The Terminators: Army of Legend - Volume VI: The Harvest
by Sir Areis Lionheart
Summary: Zack Dawson lies dead, Eden lies in ruins, and the superweapon ADAM is nothing more than useless scrap metal, but was it really the best option? Many of their brothers are gone, the omnicidal Reapers are now free, and the Terminator Militia, an army unlike any you've seen before, are in their darkest hour. Rated M: For Intense War Violence, Strong Language, and Sexual Content.
1. Prologue: Under the Knife

_**Prologue**_ **:**

 **-''Under the Knife''-**

 **-New Alexandria, Montana-**

 **- _11 May 2014_ -**

 **- _0411 Hours_ -**

God never puts us through more than we can handle...for the longest time, this is all we've been told, what we've believed. We held the belief that things would never be harder for us than what we can handle...and yet the things we've had to go through are enough to break even the most emotionally stable man. Whenever we think we overcome one struggle, another, harder one surfaces, and once more we find ourselves on the brink of submission and surrender. So why, then, do we suffer so greatly? Is it because of our resilience? Is it because the mutation serum we, as Alpha Company of the Terminator Militia, are given? Something that makes us so powerful, able to take and deal a lot? Or is this punishment for our sins, and our way of life?

Every test we've been given we passed with flying colors, and yet...as they get harder and harder, the road becomes even rockier. Our golden age ended with the Second American Civil War, waged on us by the forty-second president of the United States, a man named Barry Mabao, who turned our longtime allies against us. After three years of suffering, we finally ended up the victors of the war. Even through all our struggles: first the GTC, then the LKA, then the _Maxia_ , the Brotherhood, the _Caeda_ , and Zack Dawson's Neo- _Maxian_ Republic, we never surrendered, we never gave in, and we kept our chins high, holding firmly to the belief that the road was getting harder as we neared the end of the suffering.

Now, the world seems to be getting even darker for us. Our leader, our friend, our brother, Alex Vaughn, founder and commander of the Terminator Militia, lays dying on an operating table, and the surgeons attending him are struggling to keep him alive...

My name is Ruby, I am a common bottlenose dolphin, one of the newer recruits here...and that young man struggling to hold on to the last threads of life on the table in the room before me is my mate. He is the sole reason why I'm still alive today, and it was the thought and memory of him, of seeing him again, being reunited with him, that helped me survive through my long years of torture and containment as a governmental guinea pig. What I feel right now is only matched by what I felt a long time ago, back in the year 1977, when he left me to his home time of the mid 2010s.

No one here, no one in Alpha Company, knows or understands what's happening, we don't know how he's doing, or what his status is. The doctors won't tell us anything.

We've been through a lot of dark times since our founding, and have managed to hold our own even as the road before us grew steeper and more rugged. Since my arrival a little over a year ago, my rescue from my captors by my mate and his friend, Rainbow Dash, I have seen the fall of two of our brothers, of two members of Alpha Company, our tech specialist and pilot, a fox named Tails, and a very dear friend of both mine and Alex's, a Pokemon, a servine, named Terrias. I have also watched the slow deterioration of my Alex's happiness and sanity...and now, _both_ of my saviors are on the brink of death. Rainbow Dash was impaled on our escape from the flying city of Eden, Zack's home and headquarters, and my own Alex, having lost his arm in the battle, is now bleeding out, and the doctors say he's lost a lot of blood, enough to drop even the strongest man.

Even through my containment, I can't recall ever feeling so hopeless as I do now. There is nothing I can do to help...nothing _any_ of us can do. The doctors say to keep him in our prayers, that he'll make it, God-willing...and although I'm not _terribly_ religious, I still identify myself as Christian, much like a number of my brothers, but I'm not really the Bible-toting, church-attending type, I prayed harder than I've ever done for him to make it...I can't lose him, he is my world, my life.

His condition only seems to be worsening, and I can't help but feel hurt and betrayed. Is all of this pain I'm going through because of my crimes as the Archangel Vitam? Alex and myself are, apparently, the reincarnations of two ancient, fallen Archangels, deleted from the texts of the Old Testament, the Archangels Messorem and Vitam, the first, and only true, grim reaper, and the giver of life, the one charged with returning the harvested souls of the dead into the next generation of the living, respectively. Where he was the reaper, Messorem, I was the life-giver, Vitam. Although I don't remember any of this life, all I know is that we were married, and deeply in love...until he gave everything to save me from death after a mistake I made that damned humankind to eternal torment and temptation. Many millennium, and many lifetimes, later, it seems that I'm still suffering punishment for what I did back then...because now I watch as the only person giving me a purpose, a reason, to live, fades away into nothing before my very eyes.

The texts say that God is loving, kind, and generous, that He hurts with us and only puts us through hard times to test our faith and its strength...but what kind of loving god would do this to us? Why must my suffering continue to prolong? Is there no end to my punishment? My torment? Maybe I'm selfish for thinking this...but I can't help but feel that all of this is my fault, in part. We would probably still be up in Heaven, living high and living large, as happy as ever with my Alex, if not for my mistakes.

If he dies...I don't think I'll be able to continue slugging through this.

When the doctors said that he would need a blood transfusion, I quickly offered up my services, willing to do anything to secure his safety and survival, but they rejected me, they said that I was not compatible, that he needed a very specific blood type, that because he was the universal donor, he was a very exclusive recipient. In addition, they said that even if I were his blood type, they still could not accept me, only because I am a stupid dolphin, and not a human like Alex. There is nothing I want more than his survival, and like he saved me back then, I want to save _him_ , I have a debt to repay. Yet, all I can do is sit here and watch as his life bleeds away from him.

I hope it's not too late, I hope he can still be saved, and I hope that after all of this, we can finally be at peace, and it can just be me and him, living happily together for the rest of forever, maybe, even, I can become human like him...we can get married, have children, have a family, and live until our time comes and the reaper, whoever replaced Messorem after the fall, comes to take us away to the next life.

This is my only wish...let's see if God will answer my prayers this time.

Alex, I'm sorry...I'm so sorry for all of this...this is all my fault. If I wouldn't have been stupid as an angel, then maybe none of this would be happening...I'm sorry and...I love you...


	2. Chapter I: Reveille

_**Chapter I**_ **:**

 **-''Reveille''-**

 **-New Alexandria, Montana-**

 **- _13 May 2014_ -**

 **- _0911 Hours_ -**

 _..."There is no lie, and there is no choice. There is only a self-fulfilling prophecy"..._

 _Great Commander Alex Vaughn strolls through the golden wheat of Elysium, thrust in eternal twilight. Beyond the rolling hills he can see immense, marble, castle walls, marking his destination. As he walks through the waist high wheat, he is aware only of the sound of the wind blowing through the grass, the rough textures against the palm of his hand, and the smell of manure._

 _..."We are all prisoners of fate, Ali"..._

 _As he wanders through the endless fields of wheat, the world begins to lose its vividity, it begins to melt before his cold, blue, killer's eyes, and the young man suddenly becomes terrified. He breaks for the castle walls, seeking shelter within them, knowing that they are his ultimate destination, but they never seem to get closer. "Don't leave me!" he screams, "Please! I don't want to leave!"_

 _A powerful, male, but soothing voice whispers into his ear, "Messoremel, it is not your time."_

" _NO! I don't want to go! Please! Don't send me back!"_

" _Think of your loved ones, my son..." and visions of his blood brothers and sisters flash before his eyes, mainly Piermont, his dragon, Cynder, his dragonian mate, Spyro, his dragonian friend and second-in-command, Rainbow Dash, his equine mate, and Ruby, his delphinic mate, and perhaps the one he loves more than anyone else in the world._

" _Ruby..." he sighs, collapsing to the ground._

" _She waits for you."_

Alex's eyes shot open and he gasped in alarm. The world was blindingly bright, and he realized that a white light was being shined down into his eyes. Bloodied doctors were all around him, as terrified as he was, and he heard one of them swear, "He's awake! Put him back down!"

"Ruby!" Alex cried out, then, remembering Dash, who had also been injured during the fall of Eden, "Dash! Where are they!"

He tried to stand, but was being held down by the surgeons. He reached forward with his left hand, horrified when he saw nothing but blood, bone, and muscle. One of the doctors managed to force his head down against the table, and he struggled and fought against them, he was aware of someone placing a breathing apparatus over his mouth and nose. He breathed in the mist, finding the world lose its solidity and he was overwhelmed by a blissful numbness. His muscles relaxed as the pain dulled, his eyes grew heavy, and he slipped back into the black void of unconsciousness.

Ruby anxiously patrolled back and forth across the waiting room, a bundle of nerves, trembling with fear. The female dolphin wore a deeply concerned expression upon her battle-scarred face, her body more gray and pale than normal, and she appeared on the verge of tears. The rest of the legendary, animalian 'mutant division' of the massive, international Terminator Militia, referred to as Alpha Company, sat around the room, managing to keep themselves more under control, despite the fact that they were all worried about their leader and founder, Alex Vaughn, and their friend, a fellow member of the High Command, a cyan-blue, rainbow-maned Equestrian Pegasus named Rainbow Dash.

Cynder, a dragoness from the Antarctic Dragon Realms, smaller than a human, with rich-black scales, bright, ruby-red belly scales and wing membranes, and worried sapphire-emerald eyes, sat in place, her ivory horned head on her paws. She was worried for her human mate, but also tried to maintain a sense of control. Spyro, a purple Realm dragon, with golden belly scales and horns and orange wing membranes and spines, also a mate of Cynder, was curled up beside her, trying to keep her calm.

"Ruby, they'll be fine, I promise," Piermont said. He was Alex's bonded dragon, of a species referred to as Martaanean Forest Dragons, and in his natural form, had emerald scales and eyes, two tan, ribbed, slightly curved back horns on his head, tan belly scales, spines and wing membranes, and was considerably larger than the small, four foot Realm dragons, at almost ten feet tall from claw to tip of the horn, and proportionately long. However, he was in his commonly used Human form, depicted as a young adult, Caucasian male of average height and build, with greased-back black hair, an unbuttoned and unzipped studded jacket over a clean white undershirt, with black slacks and combat boots, wearing sunglasses over his unnatural emerald eyes, which didn't change with his forms. He currently toyed with an unlit Marlboro Red cigarette between his fingers, unsure of whether or not to go out and smoke or not.

"You don't know that!" Ruby exclaimed, a very delphinic whine in her tone, "I'm just...I don't want anything to happen to him..."

"Worrying about it won't help matters, Ruby," Cynder began, trying to comfort her.

"I don't care!" she snapped, "I...I can't lose him!"

Cynder only sighed, the rest of Alpha Company didn't even address her as the dolphin, walking on her tail flukes, continuously paced back and forth, glowing a faint red as she used her telekinesis to nervously clench and unclench her 'hands' by manipulating the fingers on her steampunk-style Dwarven gauntlets, from the medieval nation of Tamriel located in the heart of the primarily medieval or at least pre-Rennaisance Gothics, a cluster of nations in the Atlantic Ocean.

"Ruby...he will be fine," Sapphire, a sapphire-blue bull dolphin and Ruby's childhood friend and mate, began, attempting to calm her.

"You don't know that, Sapphire!" she exclaimed, never stopping her brisk pace.

The bull only sighed, emitting an exasperated whistle in the process.

The door to the operating room suddenly opened, and silence befell Alpha Company, with Ruby pausing in her nervous walk as a bloodied doctor approached them, removing his gloves.

"Are they okay?" Cynder finally asked.

He nodded, "They're stable...for now. We managed to stop the bleeding anyway. The Commander is currently undergoing a blood transfusion, we may have gotten lucky this time. As for Rainbow Dash," and he shrugged, "I'm not a veterinarian, so I can't honestly tell you, although we stopped the bleeding and have a Randall Fox on the way to take care of her."

"Will they recover?" Ruby asked in a small voice, afraid of his response.

He shrugged, "Honestly, only time will tell. They're both in critical condition...they lost a _lot_ of blood, especially Alex...but we'll make sure to keep you updated."

"Thank you," Spyro said.

"You are welcome," he replied, returning into the operating room.

"You see, Ruby?" Cynder replied in a soothing tone, "They're fine."

She still whined uneasily, but did manage to sit down beside Sapphire, trembling nervously. Sapphire prodded her with his snout, attempting to calm her.

Eventually, Alex was alert enough for them to visit him. The High Command, with Sapphire, was the first to enter, with Ruby immediately running towards the Commander, standing beside him. He weakly stretched out an arm, petting her snout, "Are you okay?" Cynder asked.

He nodded, weakly lifting the bandaged stub of his arm, "Been better."

"Any phantom pains yet?" Piermont smirked.

"No, but I'm sure it'll happen."

"Ruby was worried about you," Sapphire began, "We are glad to see you are doing better at least."

"Any idea when you'll be able to leave?" Spyro asked.

Alex shrugged, "It depends," he replied, struggling to speak through the tubes down his throat. Sapphire walked over to his left, observing the blood bag.

"How much blood did you lose?" Cynder asked.

Ruby crouched down enough to allow him to kiss her snout, and as she placed her head on his lap, allowing him to pet her, he responded, "Docs said I lost about 42%."

"Jesus...will you be okay?"

He slowly nodded, then, with a weak smile, his eyes resting on the worried dolphin cow, "You can't...get rid of me that easily..."

"I'm sorry to bother you," a nurse began, entering the room, "But it's time to switch everything out."

The others of Alpha Company exchanged glances before Spyro said, "We should probably get back to Club Camelot anyway...we have our own errands to run," and he excused himself, the rest of Alpha Company following close behind him.

Eventually, only Ruby remained, and she sat up, clutching her gloved fins across her chest, "I have something to give you..." she began, and she handed Alex a small vial of deep red liquid.

"What is this?" he asked her, confused.

"When the doctors said that you needed blood...I offered to help...but they wouldn't let me..." and he tried his best to hide a slightly disturbed glance, realizing what she was giving him. "You know..." she continued, smiling sadly, "You never know when you might need it."

"Uh...thanks...I guess..." he replied.

"I love you..."

"I love you, too, Ruby..." and with a nod, she finally left. He glanced at the vial of blood once again, pondering whether to get the doctors to dispose of it before, with a sigh, he hid it away from out of sight. He was happy that she cared so much for him...even if she had a rather unique way of expressing it.

"Ruby, I don't know why you're worrying so much...he'll be fine," Cynder began, trying to, once more, ease the worried dolphin's sorrow. Alpha Company had returned to Club Camelot as night had fallen over the city of New Alexandria.

"You seem to forget," Spyro began, "That Alpha Company can take a lotta heat...something like this isn't gonna put him down."

"I'm not forgetting anything!" the dolphin spat, "He was almost killed by Zack, and it wasn't even a poisoned blade!"

"He had his arm severed," Cynder sighed, "The injury didn't almost kill him, the blood loss did. He's fine now, he _will_ be fine, don't worry."

"Fact of the matter is, we're not invincible anymore."

"We were never invincible in the first place," Spyro replied, "We're resistant, not invincible."

With a rapid, furious chatter of cackles and whistles, she stormed outside of the suite, the others of Alpha Company staring dumbfounded after her. Spyro sighed, shaking his head while the rest of Alpha Company returned to their interrupted activities.

Later that night, long after everyone else had since retired to bed, Cynder slipped back into the bedroom she shared with her mate, finding Spyro curled in bed, comfortable, but awake. "She still out there?" he asked. After their confrontation with her earlier, she had headed outside to the luxurious east balcony where both she and Sapphire lived.

"Yep..." Cynder sighed, collapsing in bed beside him, curling around him, tangling her tail with his.

"I really hate that damn dolphin...why did Alex have to ever bring her here in the _first_ place?"

Spyro strongly disliked Ruby, seeing her as an unnecessary burden and too high of a risk, regardless of her superior strength, which tripled that of the 'alpha mutant', Alex himself. Although the majority of the others of Alpha Company mirrored the purple dragon's feelings towards her, Spyro was the only one who wasn't afraid to speak his mind.

"Because he loves her," Cynder replied, "And sometimes, you gotta make sacrifices for someone you love."

"I don't see why...she's fucking insane, Cyn..."

"I know...but they love each other, and even though their relationship is...unique..."

"It's creepy," Spyro interrupted, "I mean, it's bad enough that he's sleeping with a dolphin anyway, but her entire self-destructive fixation on him is insulting to women in general and is simply ridiculous."

"Well, he loves her back, so that's why. Once he's home safe, she'll get better, don't worry."

"Yeah, but how long will we have to put up with the hot mess that she is before he gets home?"

Cynder shrugged, "If you're really that upset with her, just stay away from her, easy enough."

"Hard to do when she's living with us..." and with a sigh, he finally silenced, getting comfortable enough in her embrace to finally drift off. Cynder kissed him lightly and buried her head in his soft, warm, scaly neck, soon falling asleep herself.

" _You are special..." a voice speaks to him, and Alex opens his eyes, finding himself standing in the middle of a busy city. He stands on the sidewalk, seemingly unseen by the citizens as they rush past him in a slow motion blur, although they part as they reach him, walking around them, although never seeming to acknowledge his presence. He watches, in awe, as the city buzzing around him suddenly speeds by, as in in slow motion, the sun rising and setting a hundred times in a second. As time flies by, he watches the city become more and more decrepit, falling into further and further disrepair until it is soon abandoned and overtaken by nature. The male voice, something he recognizes but can't pinpoint where from, speaks again, "I can sense great power locked within you, power that has yet to be realized. You are a judge, you are one of the weights that Nature uses to maintain its tender balance. You are a pawn of fate, and you blindly follow its mission without question, even as it uses and exploits you."_

" _Who are you?" he asks the voice._

" _You are a being of great potential, but you work for the wrong side. Your species is not infinite, and regardless of what you do to extend its lifespan, it will meet its end...we will be the ones to harvest your race, to bring you to new reaches of evolution."_

" _Reapers..." Alex replies in a grim tone, "You...we've met before, yes? Your the one who talked to me on Eden..."_

" _You freed us from that man who restrained us...and now, it's time to return the favor..." and Alex screams as one of the immense, squid-like machines known as the Reapers hovered into position before him, it's three yellow eyes flashing red as it begun to charge its primary cannon. Alex falls back, raising an arm against his face as the sentient machine trumpets before firing to him...and as he feels the heat of the plasma burn the flesh from his body, incinerating him into ashes, he cries out before..._

...He shot up in bed with a jolt, setting the heart monitor attached to him into a flurry of disturbed beeps and whistles. He blinked, the vision of the machine flashing before his eyes before he fell back in bed, rubbing his left hand through his hair...or so he thought. With an exclamation of surprise, he turned to see where his arm once was, seeing the bandaged stubbed of what once was and remembering what had happened. He felt a peculiar sensation in the missing limb, clenching his fist, and he could almost feel his fingernails digging into the palm of his absent hand. Frowning, he glanced ahead towards the closed door of his room, which he was staying in alone. With a smirk, he remarked, "Guess that ends my masturbation sessions," and he chuckled, "Ruby'll have a lotta fun with that...or maybe not, since that means no more touchy-touchy for her," then he frowned, remembering the dolphin, "Ruby..." and he suddenly wanted nothing more than to have her here with him, desiring only to curl up against her and fall asleep within her embrace.

He debated calling her...his phone was on the nightstand next to him after all...but eventually decided against it (after trying, and failing, to grab it with his missing hand), realizing that it was likely that most of Alpha Company was asleep at this hour, Ruby included. He closed his eyes and relaxed, expanding his mind out of the hospital room, through the city, and zeroing in on Club Camelot. He condensed the expansion to the penthouse floor, then to Suite 1, and as he mentally entered the suite, he was comforted by the warm presence of his comrades, all of their mental presences dull and idle...they were sleeping. He singled out Ruby, slyly entering dreams to find her twitching under another nightmare. He couldn't see what she was dreaming, to do that he would actually have to physically be by her side and touch her during a dreaming state, he could only sense that it was something causing great distress, as her mental presence radiated a very grim and unhappy aura, and he could tell...she was crying.

This weighed heavily on his heart, and he reached out to her, attempting to project himself towards her, to extend a hand and so much as pet her soft, smooth skin. When he found that, despite all of his abilities, he couldn't even comfort his mate in her time of need, he felt his heart sink, and he unhappily withdrew back into his body, staring off blankly towards the sterile white wall. "I don't belong here..." he sighed, "In this room...this...house of death and disease. I want to go home...Ruby..." and he sighed, "I want you here...why can't you be here with me?" he turned his head to the side, staring towards the nightstand where he could just barely make out the small vial of deep red fluid that the dolphin had given him earlier. As disturbing as it was, he was comforted with the thought that he was at least in proximity to a piece of her essence, her very life. He smiled in genuine humor. Here he was, a big bad soldier who, despite some desperate moments in his life to get into a relationship, the only thing that was similar between him and every other teenager in the world, he found himself incapable of imagining life without the dolphin by his side. He loved his comrades, and he loved his other mates: Cynder and Dash, true, but the love he felt for Ruby was deeper than that...deeper than even his own attraction to his _fiance_ , even. Yet he didn't feel guilty about it, he felt like they knew that he and Ruby _were_ meant to be together, that they _were_ destined for one another, and as he drifted off to sleep once again, he kept the dolphin at the front of his mind, and nothing else.

Alex seemed to have been stuck in bed for eternities as he remained forced in place until the doctors decided it was safe enough for him to return home. When the news finally reached him that they were letting him go home, at the compromise that he was kept under heavy observation by his comrades to make sure that nothing went wrong, he never felt happier. Requesting the doctors and nurses attending him kept mum about the reveal, he waited until everyone had congregated into his room, which they had been doing every day of his stay, especially Ruby, before he finally revealed the news to them. Although everyone was overjoyed to hear it, he could tell from one look at the surprised and overjoyed expression on Ruby's face, that she was the one most affected by it, and, sitting up in bed, he spread his arms, summoning the cow over to him with a nod of the head. She was on him immediately, hugging him tightly, burying her head in his chest, and he pet her smooth flesh, paying special attention to the base of her dorsal fin.

They maintained their embrace for several minutes, neither party wanting to break it, relishing in the close contact they shared, and, without a care in the world to who watched, Alex finally broke it, kissing his delphinic mate powerfully on the lips. She shuddered in ecstasy, her happiness radiating off of her and reaching him through their mutation-enforced mated bond. Dash only smiled, nodding in approval, which Alex soundlessly thanked with a slight nod of his own.

"When are you coming home?" Cynder asked, excited but keeping the extent of her excitement capped to maintain an at least somewhat professional appearance.

"Tonight..." Alex replied with a chuckle, "So excited."

"You sure as hell cut it close," Spyro teased, "You need to be more careful next time..."

"Yeah? Shut up," but there was humor in his tone.

"Ruby's gonna be happy," Piermont chuckled.

"Well, not _too_ happy, I'd hope," the lead nurse that had been attending Alex began, entering the room and readying his morning medication, "As hard as it will be, I'm sure, you best stay away from any kind of sexual contact until we're sure you've fully recovered. Your body doesn't need that much stress right now."

Alex feigned an irritated sigh, which Ruby queried, "Well, if I can't please him...can he at least please me?"

The nurse chuckled, "I wouldn't, else he might be tempted to do a little more than just show you a little love. Don't worry, I'm sure you guys can wait a couple of weeks."

"We'll make sure they play it safe," Cynder replied with a bemused grin, adopting a tone as if she was addressing young children.

"Darn it, Cyn," Alex began, "Why you gotta be such a killjoy?"

"Yeah, Cynder," Piermont said with a wide, toothy grin, "Why you gotta cockblock 'em?"

"Deal with it," Cynder replied with a seductive grin, flicking her tail towards the Commander before strolling over to Piermont, rubbing her tailblade against his leg on her return to Spyro's side.

"Shouldn't be any more than a couple of weeks," the nurse continued, "We'll start off by scheduling weekly checkups, and if everything goes well, or well enough anyway, then we can talk about the future of your sex lives. Trust me, I know the feeling, you guys have been apart for quite a while, a lot longer than normal I'm sure, plus after your close call," and she pointed towards Alex, "You have some catching up to do, but it's all just to make sure that everything is okay. However..." and she turned to face Ruby, "You may want to consider staying away from the...rougher stuff...for a month or two in addition to this little few-week hiatus."

"So...legitimate question," Alex began, sitting up and taking his medicine.

"What is it?" the nurse began.

He held up the still-bandaged stub of his arm, "Any chance I can get a replacement at least?"

Cynder stepped forward, "We contacted Swizzle Firma, they're going to make you a replacement out of the same steel we use for our minecrawlers, so that'll be pretty cool."

He grinned, "Badass...though, am I supposed to feel like it's still there?" and his grin dissolved into a frown of worry.

The nurse nodded, "It's called phantom limb syndrome...you'll likely be feeling it for quite some time, not quite sure how long because each person is different."

"Great..."

"It could be much worse..." and she smiled, "You know, you had a very close call there...you should count yourself lucky that all you lost was an arm."

"Would have much rather stayed as one full piece..."

She shrugged, "It happens...my advice to you then would be to retire out of combat."

"But what's the fun in that?"

"Then don't complain," although she said this with a light, scolding tone, there was still a sense of friendly humor in it, "The military is a very high risk career choice, given all that you've been through since the militia's inception, you should count your lucky stars you've remained in one piece for _this_ long."

Alex shrugged, unable to really deny her statement.

"Anyway," she continued, "There's still some little things we have to, paper work, a few additional procedures, and he should be ready to go by tonight."

"Hooray..." Alex replied, relieved that his stay was finally over, but mentally and physically exhausted. "But one final thing..." and he attempted to point before remembering that his arm was missing. Pointing towards Ruby with his _right_ hand, he said, eyes turned to Dash, who was standing beside Sapphire, "She's sleeping with me tonight."

Dash let loose wild laughter and, struggling to control herself, replied, "Kinda figured as much."

"Just so long as there's no romance in it, that's fine," the nurse continued, "I'm being serious, please don't try to do anything sexual."

"I won't, I won't," Alex scoffed, waving her off.

"Don't worry," Cynder replied, "Spyro and I will stay with him, make sure he doesn't try anything."

"Same here," Dash replied with a grin.

"Really?" Alex sighed.

"Really," they all nodded in agreement.

Ruby smiled again, rubbing her head against his chest, "That's fine," she replied, "Just so long as we're together...that's all I care about."

"Same here," the Commander replied, smiling in return and kissing the top of her head, "I love you."

"I love you, too...I missed you."

"I missed you, too."

As the nurse left to begin final preparations and Alpha Company began the process of cleaning things up, Ruby picked up the vial of blood that Alex had hidden on the nightstand, placing it firmly in the palm of Alex's hand, "Make sure you don't forget this."

"Thanks, Ruby," he replied, disgusted still, but saying nothing.

"It can be a good luck charm..."

"Yeah..." and he knew that unless he kept it on his person, she would most likely not stop chiding him for it. He hoped it wasn't the case, but unfortunately knew the dolphin a bit too well. He finally decided that, when he got the chance, he would get a chain or a string to wear I as a necklace, hoping, praying that either he or the dolphin would forget about it eventually.

"At last..." Ruby began, wearing the widest grin he'd ever seen her manage before, "We're a family once again!"


	3. Chapter II: Family Reunion

_**Chapter II**_ **:**

 **-''Family Reunion''-**

 **-New Alexandria, Montana-**

 **- _27 May 2014_ -**

 **- _2232 Hours_ -**

 _..."TERRIAS!" Alex roars, risking emerging from cover inside of the Hornet to run over to where the servine had jumped off, flinching as several rounds struck the metal around him in a slew of sparks... "Terrias! What the_ fuck _do you think you're doing, mate!?"..._

Alex groaned, flipping over in his bed...

 _...You don't know what you're doing, Ali..._

 _..."Terrias! Have you lost your_ fucking _mind!?" ..._

 _...We can be together again..._

"Terrias..." Alex muttered in his sleep, "No..."

 _..."He was a martyr, his sacrifice will not be forgotten. We could have been together again, Ali, we could have brought on the new world together. Kings of a world free from pain and suffering, free from war...but no, you had to intervene, you had to try and stop me. Why must you continue to hold only hate in your heart?"..._

"Zack..."

" _Keep moving down the path you are on, and you will find yourself with nothing, no friends, no family, no empire...you are damned to watch as everything you have ever fought for is reduced to nothing, because nothing lasts forever. Every day, the longer you are exposed to the corruption of the world, the corruption of combat, the more you will deteriorate until there is nothing left of you but a pitiful man scrounging for some scrap of control and sanity, wondering where and why everything went so wrong. That was my fate, and it will be yours, too. We are all prisoners of fate, Ali. Your only chance of redemption is if you wake up and open your eyes to the truth..."_

"No..." and his tossing and turning roused Ruby from her slumber, the dolphin turning to face him.

"Alex? What's wrong?"

 _..."There is no lie, and there is no choice, there is only a self-fulfilling prophecy."..._

"Alex?" and Ruby shook him awake, causing the Commander to jolt awake, eyes wide with horror, pain, and sadness. The dolphin elicited a series of surprised squeaks at both his sudden response, and the electric jolt that shot through her body upon touching him in his dreaming state, "What happened? Are you okay?"

He nodded, "Yeah...just...nightmares."

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

Alex chuckled grimly, "Dissect my head and destroy these reoccurring nightmares...it's just. S.S.D.D, same shit, different day. Don't worry about it."

"Alex...what's bothering you?"

"Nothing," he replied, "Actually, no...the fact that I've lost two of my best friends, one of them betrayed me, and I lost my dominant hand. It's just...it's been a rough couple years for me..." and he collapsed back into bed with a sigh, Ruby curling around him, her body warming him. She soon drifted off beneath his idle strokes, and he was soon asleep again, once more dreaming of his conversation with the Reapers.

Receiving a clean bill of health, with the exception that he comes in once a week to check on his condition, Alex and Alpha Company were allowed to go on leave for a few weeks and relax, following the situation with Eden and Zack. Ruby especially was excited at this news, with it meaning that she and Alex could return to their commitment to each other in full force. However, they were spending their vacation in Alex's hometown of Vermilion, Illinois, getting away from wartorn New Alexandria, Montana, as battle-scarred as her citizens. Privacy would be limited, and Ruby begrudgingly agreed to compromise on the frequency of their sessions.

Alex, although not necessarily on equal grounds with his family, was hoping that this escape would enable him to clear his mind of recent events, helping to overcome his recent stress and nightmares. Also, his P.T.S.D was acting up again, and he needed to escape from triggers, at least for awhile. As they headed to Anderson Airfield, where a Hornet was awaiting to take them away, Alex felt his heart sink. Soldiers and guards stopped in their patrols to salute Alex and Alpha Company, hailing them as heroes, when the Commander felt like anything but. He had killed his idol, his role model, and his best friend had been claimed in the process...he wasn't a hero, none of them were. They just did what they had to. Much like with the Second Civil War, they did what they had to do.

He grimly smiled, his entire life, he had striven to be as serious and somber, as mysterious and sinister as Zack had been. Although he forced the attitude at first, the longer he remained with the Terminator Militia, the more it became natural to him. Eventually, he didn't even have to try. Around the declaration of the Second Civil War, he _had_ become what he wanted, and now he realized that there was a _reason_ why people like that were so dark, grim, and serious...they were unhappy. The depth of depression he was feeling was not what he expected, nor wanted, and now that he was in the mindset, he didn't know how to escape...he didn't _want_ to escape. He felt that it was _too_ much of a part of him now, that if he were to change, he wouldn't be the same person, and he would lose the people he cared about in the process. Once more, he glanced at the stub of his arm. The burns he had been dealt, they healed, the gunshots, the stab wounds, the broken bones, they all healed. This...this would never heal, regenerating lost limbs was beyond the serum's ability. He then realized that, despite the fact that the serum made them literal juggernauts, they were _still_ not invulnerable or immortal. It seemed to lengthen the lifespan of those who were given it, thus why several of his teammates who should not have lived to be as long as they have were still alive, but it did not make them immortal.

They climbed into their Hornet, awaiting their pilot. When he arrived, Alex had to stop himself from greeting the pilot as Tails, remembering that the fox had long-since passed away, having sacrificed himself to save the Base World...the universe within which they lived...from another, parallel universe that had threatened to destroy them after the two had connected. He then remembered the mysterious figures, Omniversals, as they had addressed themselves, and their macabre warning to him. When the Hornet took to the skies, Alex remained, quietly, in place, head resting against the window, half-looking out towards the sprawling city, lit in a golden hue by the setting sun.

As much as he tried to take his mind off of it, his thoughts kept returning to his final confrontation with Zack, and his prediction as to the Commander's future. Was there any chance that Alex _would_ become what Zack had after all? He didn't see how it was possible. Zack had achieved his dream to be the ultimate soldier, but it had cost him a legacy, relationships, friends, and family. Alex had Alpha Company, already rendering it impossible to become the 'perfect' soldier, as he wouldn't trade them for anything else in the world. If Alpha was to be his weakness, so be it, but he wouldn't trade them for anything... _especially_ his mates, and he turned to face Dash and Cynder, sitting across from him, looking bored. Ruby rested beside him, sleeping against his shoulder, and he threw an arm around her, pulling her close and kissing her snout. She sleepily opened one loving, deep blue eye to him, emitting several satisfied squeaks and whistles before growing comfortable in his embrace, seeming to melt into his arms.

Smiling warmly, he sat back in his seat, returning his gaze to the sunset, content with where he was. Yes, he had lost Terrias, he had lost Zack, and he had left a part of himself in the ruins of Eden, but at the same time, he had most of his friends still here with him, he had three loving mates, _and_ he had a loving _fiance_ , whom he was planning on going to see and spend at least a _few_ days of their vacation with. His hand brushed against Sapphire, sitting next to Ruby, opposite of Alex, and the bull flinched at the contact before relaxing. Alex chuckling to himself, he resorted to petting the bull as well, and Sapphire, for once, did not radiate an air of hostility towards him, in fact, there was almost content in his aura.

 _She loves you_ , Sapphire thought to him.

Alex chuckled, replying, _I know._

 _Perhaps I misjudged you, you seem to care for her._

 _Of course, was there ever any doubt?_ then, after several seconds, Alex thought, _Where do you like to be rubbed?_

 _What do you mean?_ he thought in surprise.

 _Well, Ruby likes her fin scratched, what about you?_

 _Oh_ , and his aura took on a defensive tone, _I thought you meant something else._

 _What?_

 _Nevermind..._ then he guided Alex until the Commander found himself scratching the dolphin's snout, just to his left of the creature's eye. The bull closed his eyes in content, and, with the Commander turning to face a human-form Piermont, the only one inside the aircraft paying them any attention, the dragon shook his head.

 _Why don't you just give 'em a handjob already, Jesus._

 _Shut up, Pierre, we're bonding here._

 _Yeah...'bonding'_ , but Alex chose to ignore him, once more returning his attention to the sunset.

A little over an hour later, they arrived at the doorstep of Alex's family's home in rural Illinois. In the twilight of a summer day, the neighborhood was out and about, enjoying time together. At the school across the street from their house, a t-ball game was going on. All eyes in the area immediately turned to face the new arrivals, emerging out of teleportation vortexes. With the cries of children calling out the names of the exotic animals encircling the Commander, he ignored them, walking towards the front door.

It was his father who opened the door to let them in, and with one look towards Alex's missing arm, he pursed his lips, looking towards the ground as Alpha Company entered the cool, cozy living room. His mother, cooking supper in the adjacent kitchen, spared one glance towards Alex, then to Ruby, before returning her attention to the meal she was preparing, saying nothing. Alex sighed, clearly she was still pissed about his mates.

"Smells good in here," Cynder began, "What's cooking?"

Alex's mother paid her no attention, and his father replied, "Chili, making a big batch, just to accommodate everyone. Nothing like a family reunion, huh, sweetie?"

"Yep," was all his wife replied, in an exasperated tone.

Alex took a seat on the couch, observing, as usual, where his arm once was. "What happened, bud?" his father asked, taking a seat on the loveseat across from him.

Alex, frowning, replied, "Lost in a duel. The world is saved once again...but at what cost?" and he grimly smirked, "Terrias, Zack...and now this..."

"Well, you got the job done, right?"

Alex slowly nodded in response.

"You should be proud."

"Ha...proud," and Alex turned to face his father, eyes full of a unrelenting fury, not directed at anyone in particular, "I stopped being proud of my actions when Mabao declared war on us."

"How are the rest of you doing?"

The others of Alpha Company either grumbled in response or shrugged, with Rapid saying, wearing a toothy smile, "Well, as of last week, I'm a certified preacher, gonna have to start calling me _Reverend_ Rapid now."

"Really?" and Alex's father seemed genuinely intrigued, "Didn't know you were going for that."

Rapid shrugged, "We need one here, to keep morale up and whatnot...figured I'd do it."

"How are you two doing? Spyro and Cynder?"

They both shrugged, with Cynder saying, "Still as happy together as always..." and she prodded hers and Spyro's littlest dragonling, Terra, with her snout. The infant dragonling, with bright, grassy-green scales, rolled onto her back, squirming and chirping as Cynder poked her olive green belly, "She's growing up so fast..."

"How are your others doing?"

"Decided they wanted to stay back in New Alexandria."

"Ah..." then, "What about you, Aria? Your egg hatched yet?"

"Not yet," the female servine replied, "Hopefully soon, I'm getting worried."

"I'm sure it's fine...Sapphire? Ruby?"

Ruby blushed, "We're doing fine..."

"Yes," Sapphire replied with a firm nod, "We are. We've been spending more time together, given Alex's...situation."

"Pyron? Arratroth? You guys getting along well with everyone?"

The two rookies, Pyron a charmander, and Arratroth a Martaanean Forest Dragon, both snorted, with Arratroth saying, "It's not bad, I like Martaan better but...I'm getting used to it here."

Pyron responded, "Yeah, doin' pretty good. Kinda bored though, wish we had more action."

"Didn't you guys just get _back_ from action?"

"Yeah," and Pyron chuckled, "Had my break, ready for some more."

"Supper's ready, if anyone cares," Alex's mother called from the kitchen, interrupting the conversation.

The atmosphere around the kitchen table was awkward, to say the least. It was almost completely silent, and Alex's mother couldn't even do so much as to bring her eyes up to meet her son's. He understood she was disappointed about his choice in a partner, but he found it ridiculous that she was all but disowning him over it. He considered kissing Ruby on the mouth to spite her, but decided against it, choosing to sit and eat in silence, wondering if the air would ever clear. Even his father seemed to be irritated over his mother's irritation, and Alex figured that they would likely be having a talk that night.

After supper, with Alpha Company sitting around the living room, eyes fixed to a crime drama television show they weren't even watching, with Alex and Ruby cuddling together on the sofa, Ruby asked her lover, "Do you think your mom will ever accept me? Or at least accept _us_ as mates?"

"I'm not sure, Ruby," Alex began, then lying, "I would think so, I mean, she can't be mad at us forever."

Ruby frowned, "I wish you were a dolphin like me, or better yet, I wish I was a human like you...maybe if we had little babies, maybe she would like me more?"

Alex chuckled, kissing her lightly on the snout, "Maybe."

"So," Piermont began, "I hear your parents are thinkin' about taking us out to the zoo tomorrow...you comin' with?"

"Oh boy, _that'll_ be interesting," Simba began, "If we can't keep our human forms while we're there, I can only imagine what the public's reaction upon first sight of us will be...I don't wanna have to run around, getting tranqs fired at my ass."

"Been there, done that...it's not very fun," Keisha growled, the female cheetah curling into a tight ball.

"They tranquilized us when we were transported to our new home, after our rescue," Sapphire began, and Ruby nodded.

The dolphin cow also added, "And the _Caeda_ tranquilized _me_ when I was kidnapped...I wish they would have done that more often...I think that was the only time I was allowed to sleep through whatever they were doing to me."

While Alpha Company recalled interesting moments in their lives, Alex turned to face Rapid, reading silently across the room, an open Bible on his crossed legs. The bipedal skunk's stance was the most human-like of everyone in Alex's unit, likely due to the overdose of the mutation serum that had happened long ago. "Whatcha doin', Rapid?"

Distracted, the skunk replied, "Reading."

"Which book?"

The skunk's fierce, almost angry green eyes turned to face Alex, seemingly unsure. Finally, he said, "Leviticus 18."

Alex sighed, silencing.

"I know, but...it _is_ kind of a big deal, Alex."

"I've heard it all before," the Commander scowled.

"What's wrong?" Ruby asked.

Rapid, with a sigh, then quoted, " _Also you shall not have intercourse with any animal to be defiled with it, nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it; it is a perversion._ "

Ruby's voice trailing, "Am _I_ considered an animal?"

Silence before, "Yeah, you are, Ruby," Rapid replied sadly.

She turned to face Alex, who said nothing, wearing an emotionless expression on his face.

"Even though I can think and talk like a human?"

"Yes."

"Even though I wasn't _always_ a stupid fish?"

"Yes."

"I see..." Ruby began, looking away.

"Don't worry about it, Ruby," Alex said, trying to comfort her.

"But...if what we're doing is bad..."

"I don't care," he replied bitterly, "If I go to hell, so be it. I love you, and I'll be damned if that's gonna stop me from _being_ with you. I _know_ the consequences of my actions, I've accepted them. Besides, I broke that rule with Cyn, so it's really not important anymore, too late to prevent."

Early the next morning, Alpha Company struggled to remain awake as they followed Alex's family, heading across the border into Indiana, _en route_ to the zoo where they would be spending the day. Due to Piermont's handicap, after having his wing ripped off by Zack's dragon Pyre during the attack on Eden, the duo were forced to ride with the Commander's family, along with a human form Ruby and Sapphire. Alex purposely kept his distance from Ruby, feeling guilty whenever he was close to her in her human form, remembering his _fiance_ , even though he didn't mind being around and intimate with her in her natural form, it was like something different when she was human, and only reminded him of the fact that he was cheating. Although his _fiance_ was aware and didn't _seem_ to mind anyway, he still felt guilty about it. Unfortunately for Ruby, she could not comprehend his guilt, and felt that she was unattractive as a human, or he disliked her, despite the fact that it was quite the opposite. With her long, auburn hair, straightened and flowing to her shoulders, lightly freckled face, captivating sapphire eyes, her tall, thin form, and her b-cup sized breasts, she was quite beautiful, but _still_ he could not keep his eyes on her, the guilt being too strong.

She kept how she felt away from him though, and she secretly wondered if contacting Elliot about the potential for becoming permanently human was the wrong idea. Sapphire's human form was tall, thin, with pale skin, dark brown hair, and distrustful blue eyes. He also could not maintain eye contact with Ruby, finding it very difficult to accept her in a human form. The car was eerily silent, with Alex's siblings and Piermont sleeping, Alex, Ruby, and Sapphire awake but finding the air too awkward to converse in, and Alex's parents saying nothing. Not even the radio was on, and Alex kept expecting an argument or a 'talk' to break out about him and his mates. Yet the silence was maintained, even as they pulled into the zoo's parking lot and piled out of the car, Alpha Company, exhausted, appearing around them, rapidly changing into human forms.

Upon passing through the admissions booth and actually entering the zoo, finding themselves in a small plaza that branched off to separate themed areas, Alex felt Ruby's small, soft hand word its way into his own, tangling her fingers between his and holding his hand lightly. He let this go, following his family and disguised comrades near the rear of the group, holding Ruby's hand.

As they passed through the different sectors of the zoo, seeing exhibits of animals which comprised Alpha Company, Alex could sense the mood of each member of his force take on a darker tone. Although he didn't know if this was out of sadness for realizing that they were beyond the rest of their respective species and could only watch the animals go about their daily business, never to experience the joy of mutation, or if it was out of relief that they were no longer subjected to that, knowing what those animals in the pens would never know...but also experiencing what those animals will likely never experience in their lives, both positive _and_ negative. Eventually, they reached the aquarium, and after purchasing tickets for the next dolphin show, they passed by the living tank. Ruby and Sapphire both cast unreadable looks towards the cetaceans swimming around on the other side of the glass, and Alex wondered what they were thinking, not wanting to pry, unsure if prying would even _reveal_ anything. The human-form dolphins stood by the glass, and Alex watched as the tank's residents all appeared, staring off in curiosity towards the newcomers...did the tank's dolphins _know_ that Ruby and Sapphire _were_ ,in fact, dolphins? He wasn't sure if they could see through the disguise.

A few of the tank's dolphins poked their heads from the water, chattering along before diving back down to stare off with Ruby and Sapphire once again.

"What did they say?" Alex asked them.

Ruby shook her head, Sapphire shrugged, the bull saying, "I don't know..." and he turned to face Alex, "I can't understand them."

"Neither can I," Ruby replied, "I don't know if it is just because we're in human forms and don't have the anatomical parts necessary to comprehend and decipher their language, or if our mutations created a language barrier between us..." then, "Is _this_ how you hear _us_?"

"That's how I _did_ ," Alex replied with a grin, kissing Ruby on the mouth, much to her and his own surprise, "Then you learned English."

Alex's father then asked, "So how come that when you mutate an animal, they _automatically_ learn English and nothing else? Do they know any other languages?"

"No," the Commander replied, "When they're mutated, they're plugged into the mutual mind bank shared by Alpha Company. From there, they subconsciously learn to comprehend what we say, since English is our standard language, and since our minds are plugged into each other, they sorta adopt our understanding of the language, making it easier to learn and much faster than, say, by taking classes. The process isn't perfect, and doesn't _always_ work that way, like with Rapid and Ruby, but that's _usually_ what happens."

"I learned basic, broken English from my _Caedan_ captors over the seven years they had me as a prisoner," the female dolphin began, "Although I was mutated...they kept me so heavily dosed up on sedatives that I was unable to connect with the mutual mind bank. I actually had to teach myself to expand my mind throughout the world and find a receptive person who could comprehend telepathy. I found Alex, although it wasn't until he and Dash rescued me that I fully plugged into the mind bank and was able to start learning how to speak appropriately...these days you can't even tell that I couldn't speak. Although it took me a _long_ time to finally get a grasp on the English language."

Rapid shrugged, "Meanwhile, over here, I just chose not to speak till I knew what to say...not really the talkative type anyway."

Piermont smirked, "I don't know, Reverend, you got to be quite talkative once you grasped the language. Not as bad as _some_ people here, like Cheet, but you were bad nevertheless."

"I thought _you_ were the motormouth around here," Cynder replied, casting the dragon a sly grin.

"Well, that's probably cause I don't _always_ have some guy in my mouth...unlike _you_ , Cyn."

"Hey, at least I _get_ some."

Cherub spoke here, "Ah, Cyn...that won't work, unfortunately. Get where you're going there, but he gets plenty."

"Not as much as _that_ whore gets," Piermont grumbled beneath his breath, referring to Cynder. Hers and Spyro's sex lives were notoriously active, which he partly envied, and partly didn't. In addition to that, in the off-chance that she _wasn't_ with Spyro, she usually managed to get a night with Alex.

"Moving on..." Alex's mother began, leading the group up the bleachers and taking a seat on the top row, leaning back against the wall and fishing out a camera.

"Fuck this, man!" Piermont giggled, "I'm sittin' up front," and he raced down to a cluster of seats right next to the show tank, referred to as the 'wet seating'. The rest of Alpha Company, save Alex, Sapphire, Ruby, Aria, Sonic, Knuckles, Garrus, Shadow, Cherub, and Rapid, followed him down..

Suddenly, Ruby elbowed Alex, thinking telepathically, _You know what we should do?_

 _What?_

 _Sneak in back, me and Sapphire can join the show dolphins, you can be our trainer, then we can blow everyone away...you still remember what mama's old trainer did to guide us, right?_

 _Yeah, but I'd assume that these trainers don't use the same signs._

 _And?_

 _Plus, how would I explain two new dolphins arriving, and a random trainer they've never seen before just...magically appear to guide them? Besides, does Sapphire even_ want _to do this? I thought he was aboard the 'trainers demean dolphins' train?_

 _Well,_ Sapphire began, _Clearly, the dolphins they are using here do not have the same intelligence Ruby and I possess. Yes, as dolphins, they are still intelligent, but they are little more than what Ruby calls 'stupid fish' compared to us._

 _The narcissism is_ strong _in this one..._ Alex chuckled.

 _What?_

 _Nevermind._

 _I say we should try it,_ Ruby replied, and Alex turned to face her, she was wearing a glowing smile, _Worse comes to worse, use your Jedi mind trick abilities._

Alex thought about it for a few minutes, then, nodding, replied, _Okay, why the_ fuck _not? Let's give it a shot..._ and he excused himself down the rapidly growing audience, getting out of sight before slipping into invisibility, Ruby and Sapphire following his example. Once invisible, they sneaked towards the back room, where, emerging from the air, Ruby and Sapphire climbed the trainer platform over the living tank, returning to their natural forms before slipping in. Alex grabbed a spare wet suit he found lying around, quickly putting it on before anyone else could see. Once the trainers began piling in, he ensured to force his mental influence over them, temporarily implanting the predetermined thought that he was one of their own on their minds and that they had seen him before. This achieved, he turned to face the living tank again, watching as Ruby and Sapphire quickly wrangled the rest of the pod, hostile to the newcomers, into submission. Ruby then telepathically informed them that she and Sapphire had done a similar tactic that Alex had against the trainers, using it against the rest of the pod to force them to accept their presence.

As the show was about to begin, Alex followed the example set by the other trainers, preparing their charges, with Alex crouching on the platform, speaking to both Sapphire and Ruby, resorting to telepathy to avoid raising suspicion with the nearby trainers. "You guys ready?" he asked them, petting both the creatures and feeding them. When the rest of the trainers quickly pleasured their animals to relieve their stage fright, a tactic that Dolly's-Ruby's mother-trainer had taught him, Alex _also_ followed suit. Ruby relished in the contact, reaching her climax within seconds. Sapphire, on the other hand, was reluctant to so much as reveal himself, let alone allow the Commander to pleasure him. Eventually, he submitted, his whole body shuddering and thrusting forward as, after several minutes of stimulation, longer than the other trainers needed for their own dolphins, he reached his climax. Once Alex had finished catering to the duo, he stood up, watching them swim off together towards the gate connecting the show and living tanks.

"Hope you're ready for the show," one of the brainwashed trainers began in an excited tone, clapping him on the back, "We gotta huge crowd today."

"Of course," Alex managed, hoping that his brainwashing remained for the duration of the show. The problem with overpowering and influencing someone's mind...the length of the brainwashing differed greatly between individuals, and he wouldn't necessarily be able to brainwash them again in the middle of the show. _Hope they don't wake up before we finish,_ Alex thought out to the two dolphins, remaining in place at the edge of the pod, waiting by the gate.

 _They won't,_ Ruby reassured.

 _Hope not,_ Alex thought back.

 _If they do, it will definitely make things more...interesting..._ Sapphire responded, _Also, thanks for the orgasm, but don't expect me to let it happen again._

 _Yeah, yeah,_ and Alex chuckled, _Settle down, hotshot, just following the lead._

 _Five dollars that he wants it again sometime,_ Ruby thought with a bemused tone, _I have the slightest feeling you're growing on him._

 _Fun..._

The hum of machinery alerted him from the telepathic conversation, and as the gate slid open, he could just barely make out the dark shadows of the dolphins dash through the opening, entering the show tank and doing several laps around the perimeter. Alex followed the trainers out, getting in position, toting a bucket of fish at his side. Sure enough there was a massive crowd around him, the showroom seemed to be at maximum capacity. At least the lighting above the tank blinded him from most of the audience, and he hoped they turned the lights down come the show's start.

The lead trainer stepped forward, giving the introductions and briefly schooling the audience on cetaceans. After the several minute monologue, closing with "...And now we'll start what I'm sure you guys all came here to see," the lights dimmed and dubstep began to boom over the speakers around the room, the show had begun. The first thing he noticed was how different the show was executed in present day than back in 1977 and '78. Although his signs were definitely much different than the other trainers, no one else seemed to mind or even notice, thankfully. He _had_ forgotten much what the trainer in 1977 had taught him, but thankfully, the signs were only for show to the audience, since he was processing commands directly to the two dolphins via telepathy. Not knowing the technical names of the tricks being performed, he resorted to closing his eyes and sending mental images of the tricks he wanted Ruby and Sapphire to perform to them, which they answered by replicating...it didn't take long for the duo to steal the show.

They launched themselves much higher into the air than the others, pulling off much more complicated tricks and even complicated _combinations_ of tricks than the others in the pod. Several times, they also made sly use of their serum-granted hydrokinesis to further impress the audience, soaking them, even the ones higher up in the bleachers. With a grin, Alex informed the delphinic duo to give a very specific 'bath' to his family and the members of Alpha Company who had chosen to remain dry. Ruby and Sapphire did without question, and Alex could read from his companions' auras through the mutual mind bank that they were _not_ pleased...he could only assume his family was similarly amused. Alpha Company most likely knew where Alex, Ruby, and Sapphire _were_ , considering Alex spoke to the dolphins through the mutual mind bank, accessible by anyone in Alpha Company, plus, the dolphins themselves easily stuck out from the rest of the pod. Both were larger, more scarred, more muscular, and stronger than the others in the pod, and their tricks were much more flashy and complicated, showing off their refined intelligence. Their colors were also vastly different, with Sapphire noticeably bluer than the others, and Ruby paler and much grayer. Alex only wondered whether or not his family was aware of his shenanigans, and if they were, if Alpha Company had informed them, or if they could tell themselves.

Although the trainers' brainwashing remained intact through the show, the dolphins began to snap back to their senses one-by-one, evidenced as they started to become distracted from the performance by Ruby and Sapphire, regaining their hostility, occasionally taking threatening charges and sounding warning challenges against the duo. By the very end of the show, Ruby and Sapphire had pulled back from their flashy maneuvers, trying to blend more into the rest of the pod to avoid attracting more unwanted attention from the rest of the pod to themselves than absolutely necessary. As soon as it ended and the dolphins retreated to the living tank, Ruby and Sapphire found themselves instantly being assailed by the hostile creatures, with the duo hurriedly leaving the tank, retaking their human forms in front of a bunch of frightened and alarmed trainers. Alex quickly shed the wetsuit, breaking his control over the trainers just as he charged through the door to the showroom, slinking back towards the base of the bleachers, awaiting his family and the rest of Alpha Company to emerge from the exiting crowd of people.

Upon their reunion, he was instantly chided by his mother and several members of Alpha Company, with his father and the rest of Alpha expressing their genuine amusement and entertainment by the trio's mischief. As twilight fell upon the world, Alex, his family, and Alpha Company returned to Vermilion, exhausted but in good spirits after the fun day they had spent.

"When are you going back to New Alexandria?" Alex's mother suddenly asked him, and he turned to face her, grin diminishing into a frown at her barbed question.

"Why the hurry?" Alex chuckled.

"Because I can't keep turning around to see you and that damn dolphin of yours all tangled together."

Alex and Ruby exchanged stunned glances, with the rest of Alpha Company doing their best to remain as far away from the tension as possible, refusing to get involved. "You know, the hell is wrong with you?" Alex asked, eyes narrowing, "When I was a kid, you kept pushing to spend time with me. Now that I'm adult and finally _doing_ so, you're chasing me away...worse part is, you've _been_ this way with me since you found out about Cyn, Dash, and Ruby!"

"You have a _fiance_ , Alex!" she exclaimed then, "A beautiful girl, who loves and trusts you...and yet you're sitting here cheating on her! With _animals_!"

"So what are you more pissed about then, huh? The fact that I'm cheating on my _fiance_ , or the fact that I'm sleeping with animals? You know, you _don't_ control my life, you never had the privilege. In fact, when I needed you most, _YOU WEREN'T THERE_! So why in the _hell_ do you think that _I_ care about how _you_ feel about them? Because believe it or not, they did something that _you_ didn't do! They were _there_ for me when I needed it most. Not even my own _family_ could say the same!"

Finally snapping, his mother walked up to him, pointing a damning finger, "You! Out of my house!"

"What?"

" _GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!_ Get out of my life! Enjoy the road to hell, enjoy the suffering, and enjoy your precious _mates_! But GET OUT of MY _HOUSE_!" and she stormed out of the building, slamming the front door shut, leaving the room in a thick air of awkward silence.

After several minutes, Pyron broke the silence, "What the _fuck_...?"

Alex's father, wearing a grim expression, sighed, "Perhaps you should leave. I don't think she meant what she said...but staying away from her for awhile is probably a good thing."

Alex finally stood up, wearing a grim expression, nodding to himself, "Fine," and he walked over to his dad, "But don't you guys even _think_ about coming to me for help, or trying to rebuild bridges. I went out of my comfort zone to try and bury the ax...but if she can't accept me for who I am, then good- _fucking_ -riddance..." and he turned to face his comrades, "Guess it's time to head back home," and he stepped outside, dialing General Elliot.


	4. Chapter III: Attack of the Reapers

_**Chapter III**_ **:**

 **-''Attack of the Reapers''-**

 **-New Alexandria, Montana-**

 **- _06 June 2014_ -**

 **- _0825 Hours_ -**

"How's it workin' for you?" Fox began.

Alex, testing out the finger and wrist movement of his black, leather-covered bionic arm, looked up to find the doctor approaching him, wearing a grin. Doctor Randall Fox was tall and lanky, of early thirties, with a receding hairline of combed-back brown hair, friendly, hazel eyes, glasses, wearing jeans and combat boots, with his labcoat unbuttoned, revealing a clean white t-shirt. He was born of a Scottish father and American mother in England, but raised in California. Although having gone to school for psychology, recruited by Alpha Company when Alex and Piermont had been briefly institutionalized following Rapid's death after their grief and isolationism from their comrades was mistaken for suicidal thoughts, Fox was very knowledgeable in anatomy of humans and various animal species, both real and mythological, making him ideal as Alpha Company's primary physician. In addition to this, he was also head of the militia's Research & Development branch, alongside a young, white-scaled dragon named Bleu, hailing from the nation of Rune, located within the cluster of Atlantic, predominantly medieval nations referred to collectively as the Gothics.

Alex shrugged, "Gonna be weird to get used to, but a helluva lot better than walking around without an arm..." he was sitting upright in a hospital bed within Fox's office located within Club Camelot, wearing only his jeans and boots. The rest of the High Command had joined him, and Ruby's eyes were fixed to his numerous battle-scars, not an alien sight at all to the dolphin cow's eyes, but still stunning to see nevertheless.

"Giving that it's made from the same steel as the Minecrawlers, I would assume that it's pretty damn resilient to whatever anyone can throw at it...don't see you losing that arm again anytime soon."

"Hope not," and Alex grinned, "Glad I can _finally_ have use of my damn arm again...I'm a lefty, so being a righty has been hell."

"Well, until you can figure out the strength of that arm, you may want to be a little careful. I'd imagine you'll break a few pencils before you can write with it again. Likewise, I'd be careful not to hold your _fiance_ 's hand anytime soon."

"Thanks, Fox."

"No problem...glad to see you in one piece again."

"Heh," and Alex grinned, "You're not the only one, brother."

Fox left his office soon after, leaving Alex and the High Command in there alone. After several minutes of silence, Piermont, in his human form, leaning against a corner of the room with his arms crossed, nodded towards Alex, "So...how you feelin'?"

Alex shrugged, "Pretty good, why do you ask?"

"Well...I don't imagine you're taking your mom's rejection very kindly."

Alex frowned, his aura taking on a dark tone, "I don't really care. I haven't for years. She can live in her little fantasy world, she can hate or love whatever she wants. The damage is done, and she can't change me. She's been _trying_ to change me into a quote 'normal human being' since Elliot sent Alpha back to the states from Fort Ozark. You can see how successful she has been."

"Apparently Ruby set her off then, she was pretty pissed..." Dash interrupted, "Or has she _always_ been pissed at you?"

"Not just Ruby, but you and Cyn as well...anyway, like I said, I don't really care. I'm happy where I am, mostly, and I'm glad to have you guys as my mates. If mom don't like that, oh fuckin' well. I'm not ditching you guys just to make her happy."

"You talked to Sarah recently?" Piermont asked, "When you guys gonna get hitched anyway?"

Alex grinned, "Thinking next month. We've been planning everything else a lot as of late. So, odds are it'll be around the 4th of July when we get to the altar."

"You having Reverend as the preacher?"

"Negative, don't think any church would be really willing to allow Sarah and I to get wedded by a skunk."

"Racist."

"Shut up, Pierre."

"Why does it matter whether or not it's in a church?" Spyro asked, "If they won't accept it, go somewhere else. I think it'd mean a lot, not just to Rapid himself, but all of Alpha, if you had him wed you two."

Alex shrugged, "Well, kinda too late now, pretty much all the arrangements have been finalized."

"Dick," Piermont scoffed.

"Love you, too, hon," Alex replied on reflex.

"Who's the best man?" Piermont asked, wearing a grin.

Alex sighed, "It was supposed to be Terrias..." and his voice trailed off. After several moments of silence, the Commander shrugged, "Guess the responsibility falls upon you, Pierre...that is, if you don't make a fool out of yourself."

"Nah! I would never do that on your special day, man. I may be an ass sometimes, but I'd never try to dick around at your wedding."

"You nervous about it?" Spyro asked, "Not really sure what kinda effect such a milestone has on you humans."

Alex shook his head, "Nah, dunno what I'm gonna do, hope I don't act stupid or fuck somethin' up, but no, not really nervous. Actually kinda excited to get it done and over with, I've put this off for far too long...what with first Mabao, then Zack."

"You think she's gonna cockblock you and Cyn, you and Dash, or, God forbid, you and Ruby?" Piermont asked, picking his teeth with his combat knife.

Alex shrugged, "I'm not sure...although I'd expect my special time with them to be drastically reduced, if not utterly destroyed."

Ruby whined unhappily, almost too subtle to be noticed.

"Don't worry, Ruby," he said, "I'll still try to find a way to be with you guys...it just won't be as frequent as it is right now."

"Still think you should reconsider lettin' Reverend be your preacher, man," Piermont chuckled, "You still got time."

Alex glared at his dragon, "I wouldn't count on it. Although _I_ wouldn't mind it...this day means much more to Sarah than it does to me, I'd think, and I won't do anything she may dislike."

"You _really_ think she won't like lettin' Reverend do it for you."

"No, I don't. She wants a traditional wedding."

"How boring!"

Alex shrugged, "Hey, as long as she's happy, I'm happy."

"Better drop your mates then," Piermont chuckled, "Doubt she won't like it."

Alex glared at him.

"Yeah, right, right. Fine..."

They were suddenly interrupted as a loud rumble sounded and the world succumbed to a miniature earthquake. "What the hell?" Alex asked, looking around. After another, quake-like rumble, the power flickered before going out, and the Commander could hear the screams and swears of people outside.

"What's going on?" Spyro asked, looking around, before he was interrupted by a loud, all-too-familiar trumpet-like sound.

"Reapers!" Cynder exclaimed, and Alpha Company was immediately in action, charging out of the room, through the panicking crowds inside of the practice, and out into the busy rotunda floor of the luxurious military club that housed Alpha Company. The trumpeting of the Reapers sounded again, and the dome above them shattered as zombie-like, once-human creatures, known as husks, dropped down through the ceiling and into the club.

A loud, monotonous, metallic, layered, and familiar voice rang out through the air, "The harvest of Humanity shall commence! Men, women, children, _no_ one shall resist the will of the Reapers! We will be your destroyers, your saviors, we will perfect you, we will be the catalyst for your evolution: the union of man and machine!"

As the High Command ripped through the husks overrunning Club Camelot's rotunda and lobby, they charged outside, their eyes widening as they saw one of the immense, black, squid-like organic machines known as the Reapers landing before them, trumpeting once. Hovering at the front of it, Alex spied a human-sized, humanoid creature clad in a rich-black cloak, wearing a black, steel helmet and mask in the shape of a falcon's head. He held his gloved, three-fingered hands out before him, as if on a crucifix.

"I am Ares, the harbinger of your evolution..." the monotonous, mechanical voice continued, "Through me, you will achieve the peak of your existence! Do not resist, submit to me, embrace your evolution, embrace your perfection!"

"Shit!" Piermont swore.

"What do we do?" Spyro asked.

"We need to get it away from the city," Alex growled, "Somebody!" he shouted towards the scattering soldiers, "Get a hold of Elliot! Tell him to get Beta Company in here!" and he raced down the street, heading to Anderson Airfield on the opposite side of the nearby military district, the rest of his unit in tow.

"Alex!" Ruby called, "What are we doing!?"

"We need to get our Hornet," he spat, "Our first priority is to lead that damn thing away from the city!"

"God I hope we don't have more coming..." Spyro sighed.

Cynder spoke up, "What do we do about that guy with it?"

"Lure him out of here, too!" Alex spat, "If we can get to the Burned Lands and far enough away from the city, we can blast the sonuvabitch with the _Ring_!"

Around them, more and more husks were deployed from Reaper ships, although, thankfully, no more Reapers arrived on scene. Behind them, they could hear the creature that had arrived with the Reaper continue his speech, although they could no longer see him. Alpha Company, now reunited, flinched out of the way as the Reaper fired its laser down the street, engulfing everything in its path in flames. Sirens blaring throughout the city, Alpha Company watched as friendly aircraft moved in to fire towards the Reaper before being relentlessly brought down. Fighting through the overran military district, they finally reached Anderson Airfield, quickly reaching and boarding their Hornet. With Aria taking the machine's controls, it rose into the air, Alex and Piermont taking the miniguns to either side of the machine, the ramp at the back of the machine dropping so the others of Alpha Company could also concentrate fire towards the immense Reaper, tearing through Town Center.

It didn't take long before they were the only Hornet still left in the sky, and with Aria concentrating on dodging the attacking Reaper, now targeting them specifically, the Hornet's passengers continued their barrage of attacks against the Reaper, hoping to maintain its attention. Aria continued heading north, moving towards the Burned Lands, bringing the Reaper with them. Ares also followed them, but any time a shot would come near him, he would teleport out of the way, appearing somewhere else in the sky. Eventually, Alex ordered for them to conserve the ammunition they were using against Ares and save it for the Reaper, their bigger threat.

"You cannot resist the will of the Reapers for long," Ares' slow, monotonous, robotic voice continued, "Much like the thousands of species before you, you _will_ be assimilated. To become one with us, to become _one_ with _machine_ , the peak of evolution!"

"He's gaining on us!" Alex roared, "Aria! Move faster!"

"I'm going as fast I can, dammit!" the servine growled, " _You_ try to outrun this fuckin' thing while it's trying to shoot us outta the sky!"

"I don't understand!" Piermont spat, "What the hell is going on? Where did this damn thing _come_ from?"

"Zack had them under control somehow," Cynder began, "Now he's dead and his control over these things is gone, they're free to do whatever they like...and apparently they want to bring about our extinction!"

"Just be glad we're only taking on _one_ of these things," Alex sighed, "Imagine if we had to deal with the whole armada at once."

Ruby replied, "Please, please, _please,_ don't jinx us, Alex."

"For once, I agree with your girlfriend!" Piermont responded, taking aim with a rocket launcher.

"We're almost to the Burned Lands!" Aria roared, "Keep 'em occupied!"

The city beneath them soon gave way to the baked, desert-like wastelands of the Burned Lands, already showing signs of reclamation by nature following its destruction by the _Fiernes Curtain_ , an immense wall of dragonfire that had been erected shortly after the late United States President Barry Mabao declared war on the militia way back in 2009.

Once they were a sufficient enough distance away from New Alexandria, the Hornet turned around, hoping to continue firing on the Reaper and keeping it occupied until the _Ring_ could be primed and fired on it. As they strafed right, hoping to use a nearby mountain peak for cover against the machine, it began to charge its cannon. Before they could move away from the attack, however, it connected with the left side of the Hornet, decimating one of its two turbines and sending it into a tailspin towards the ground.

"We're going down!" Aria cried, "Hold onto something!"

"As you grow weaker, we shall grow stronger!" Ares roared, and Alex managed to peek out through the open ramp long enough to spy the creature shimmer into visibility above them before the Hornet crashed into the ground, sending its occupants into a daze. Clambering out of the grounded machine, Alex and his unit picked themselves up, stunned by the impact. "You will not be able to resist our will for long," Ares said before shimmering out of visibility for the last time.

The Reaper was immediately upon them, crawling towards them blaring its trumpet in what could only be described as irritation. Alpha Company scattered as it fired its cannon in a sweeping motion across the ground, booming its mechanical, trumpet-like horn when none of its attacks connected with its targets. Slipping in an earpiece, which he had collected from the Hornet shortly before its crash, Alex called, "Elliot! We're in the Burned Lands north of the city with this friggin' squid, I hope you gotta plan, over!"

"We already have the _Ring_ zeroed in on your location, keep the Reaper occupied until we're about to fire, then get the _hell_ outta dodge!"

"Our bird is down, Elliot!"

The general swore, soon dissolving into another fit of liquid coughs. Once his coughing fit receded, Elliot continued, sniffling, "Hold position for a few minutes, I'm sending another one your way," and he severed the connection.

Alpha Company temporarily regrouping to share orders, they dispersed within the field, trying to keep the Reaper from locking onto one particular target, something that would prove fatal to the entire group. Baiting the machine's attacks was their only chance of survival, and even its sweeping attacks were easier to avoid than a fully locked-on blast with its cannon, holding enough force behind it to obliterate their cover easily, even behind a mountain. Alex's eyes kept turning to the skies above, where the thin, black ribbon of the _Ring,_ halving the sky,had finished locking onto the area and one of the plasma cannons aboard it slowly began to emerge from within its interior. The massive LEDs lining its interior, visible even from Earth's surface, were lit in 'going green', announcing that the superweapon had been primed and was readying to fire. Even from the surface of the planet, the doors concealing the cannons were visible, and as they opened, revealing the visible, but dark, interior of the weapon, the cannon, visible in unbelievable detail, with even the tangling of wiring visible from the planet's surface, emerged to its full length. They watched as green fluid flowed into the back of the cannon, and a small, electric green orb, growing steadily larger, formed at the mouth of the cannon. Eventually, the charging ball of plasma was bright enough that it seemed to darken the rest of the world, casting the entire area in a sickly green hue. A deafening sound, resembling a powerful waterfall at close proximity, resonated from the charging cannon, signaling that it was almost ready to fire.

As the Reaper stomped forward towards them, the world quaking with each step, the ground began to crack and crumble beneath it. With an alarmed, surprised trumpet, the entire ground gave way beneath the machine, spiderwebbing miles to either side of it, forming a sudden canyon, hundreds of feet deep. "JESUS _FUCKING_ CHRIST!" Piermont roared, "RUN!"

Alpha Company was instantly on the run, heading away from the collapsing ground as their extraction Hornet arrived nearby, hiding behind the mountain to avoid being spotted by the Reaper. Alex, closest to the Reaper, rotated on his heels, trying to catch up to his companions, although he was slower than his quadrupedal allies. As much as he tried, he was unable to outrun the collapsing earth, and he cried out in alarm as the ground gave way beneath him. He ran in place, as if running on shingles being pulled out from beneath him, before he finally lost his footing and slid down the grade of the rapidly expanding canyon. "ALEX!" Ruby cried, turning to go back for him, but not before she, too, was caught in the collapsing ground. Alex somersaulted down the incline, rapidly sliding towards the drop off. Ruby was just ahead of him, clinging for anything she could to avoid sliding down. Finally, Alex went over the edge, plummeting a number of feet down, with Ruby falling soon after him. Alex finally caught onto a root jutting out from the cliff face, creaking and groaning in protest once Ruby landed atop it, emitting a pained squeak as she landed on her back. "RUBY! HELP ME!" Alex cried to her as his grip loosened. Snapping out of the daze of impact, Ruby, still clinging onto the branch reached out towards him, and just as Alex lost his grip, Ruby grabbed onto his bionic hand. Alex, dangling over the abyss, stared at her with wide, terrified eyes, giving him an expression not unlike a frightened child, "R...R...Ruby!" he stammered, trembling.

"I've got you, Alex!" she replied, holding onto him, trying to pull him back onto the limb. The root cracked and groaned beneath the combined weight of the duo, and Ruby uttered an incomprehensible series of half-words, her eyes wide, frightened, and deeply worried. Part of the root snapped beneath them, and it dipped severely forward, giving both Alex and Ruby gasps and cries of alarm.

"ALEX! RUBY!" they heard a voice, either Cynder's or Dash's, call out, and as the root dipped ever lower, a grave look overtook Alex's face. Beneath them, hundreds of feet down, the Reaper, having landed in a tangled pile, slowly began to recover from the fall, beginning to pick itself up.

"Ruby..."

"Alex! Don't worry! I'll get you!"

"No," he replied sternly, trying to mask his fear, "Let me go..."

"But..."

"It's either me or both of us!" he growled furiously, angrily, "Let me go!"

Ruby shook her head vigorously, wearing a stunned expression, "No...no...! I will not! I _refuse_!"

"DAMN IT, RUBY!" he screamed, "Don't be fucking stupid!"

"If you go, I'm going, too!"

"No, you won't..." and Alex reached down to his waist with his free hand, withdrawing his combat knife, "Ruby...I'm sorry...forgive me..." and he thrust the blade into her fin.

She screamed in pain, releasing her grip on reflex before screaming out as Alex fell into the abyss, disappearing in the fog and dust that had begun to settle over the bottom of the canyon, reaching out for him. "ALEX!" she screamed, in tears, " _NOOO!_ "

For several seconds, she remained in place, mouth agape, unable to comprehend what had just occurred. She jolted violently in surprise as something fell onto her head and a rope appeared beside her. Ten feet above, she could hear Cynder crying out, "Ruby! Grab on!"

"ALEX!" Ruby cried, "He...he...he... _Alex_!"

"We need to get out of here, Ruby!" Cynder shouted, "Grab onto the rope!"

"But..."

"NOW!"

Reluctantly, the dolphin did, eliciting a terrified gasp as she let go of the root, falling a couple of feet before the rope tautened beneath her. She dangled over the canyon, contemplating letting go to rejoin Alex, before she finally reached the mouth of the newly-formed canyon, Cynder, Piermont, Rapid, and Jazz all grabbing onto her and pulling her up onto the ground. Ruby, out of breath and fully in a panic attack, struggled to speak but found nothing could come out, she couldn't even breathe. Sapphire and Piermont helping her stand, they all began to run towards the waiting Hornet, just as, with a blinding flash and a loud ring, the world was cast in a blood-red hue...the laser confirming the A.O.E of the _Ring_ 's blast had triggered.

"It's gonna be really _fucking_ close!" Piermont roared, and as they finally reached the waiting machine, they all piled inside, the pilot wasting no time in pulling up.

"Hold onto your britches, gents," the pilot began, "It's gonna be bumpy!"

The Hornet quickly reaching max speed, Alpha subconsciously piled into the very back of the machine, near the pilot, watching in terror as a blinding flash accompanying a loud, mechanical scream arrived. A searing white heat blasted their bodies, and for a few seconds, they all shared the same thought: after everything they had been through, the legendary mutant division of the Terminator Militia was finally going to be conquered by a friendly attack. However, when they remained alive, and the whine dissipated, the world succumbing to an eerie, haunting silence, they finally opened their eyes. They were still alive, and even though steam filled the interior of the craft and smoke rose from the exterior of the machine, half of the ramp missing, its remains glowing orange, they were, without a doubt, still alive.

They stared in shock and awe towards the Burned Lands, where the ground was now glowing, charred black, eerily sterile and empty, converted completely into glass, with steam rising from what seemed to be hundreds if not thousands of spots.

"What just happened..." Dash asked, her voice trailing into nothing.

Not a word passed between them, not a single one could find something to say, they were struck dumb and silent by what had occurred. What was more haunting, however, was that they could still sense Alex was alive, although he was in extreme pain, and his presence, his very existence, was wavering and fading, threatening to go out like a lantern that had run dry of fuel. Although they wanted to cling to the thought that he could get away from this, they couldn't help but feel that he was not going to. Ruby, Dash, and Cynder especially were terrified by what was happening, not only could they sense that Alex was barely clinging to life, but they could _actually_ sense that a _real_ reaper, an angel of death, had descended upon the world. Although they couldn't see the spirit, they could feel it, it surrounded them, it was watching them, and they knew what it was after.

Not a word or sound passed between Alpha Company as their Hornet arrived back in New Alexandria, heading towards the military district. Even as it landed in Anderson Airfield, where they found Elliot, Fox, Bleu, and a few members of Gamma Company on the tarmac to greet them, their minds were numb, there was nothing that anyone could say. No one could even summon the breath or energy to explain what had happened in the Burned Lands when confronted by their welcoming party, and even if they _could_ , they were in such a state of shock that there was no way they would be able to speak, they were driven into complete silence...Ruby and Piermont seemed to be the most affected. Piermont looked upon the world in a blank, emotionless stare, and Ruby wore a frozen expression of shock and terror, hyperventilating.

No one dared enter Alex's 'corridor' of the mutual mind blank, although it was still open and still contained the aura of his presence, signifying that he was still alive, everyone was too afraid to see for themselves. As Alex's aura slowly began to diminish and fade, becoming stale and static, Piermont's own 'corridor' became darker and darker, as did his aura and mood, he knew that there was no avoiding the inevitable, and he _knew_ that Alex was not going to make it out this time.


	5. Chapter IV: Disavowed

_**Chapter IV**_ **:**

 **-''Disavowed''-**

 **-New Alexandria, Montana-**

 **- _02 January 2015_ -**

 **- _1018 Hours_ -**

A heavy snow fell upon the Burned Lands, whiting out the world around. Through the blizzard, only two individuals traversed the seemingly endless snowfield. Dash trudged through the plain, the foot of snow crunching beneath her hooves as she made her way towards the beacon she was out to investigate. Riding on her back, Jazz, clad in black, insulated, Kevlar armor tracked the beacon on his wrist computer.

"We getting near it?" Dash asked.

"Slowly but surely," the rabbit sighed, "Can't see shit out here."

"You and me both, bro."

"Wonder why there's a distress beacon going off anyway?" Jazz asked, "It's been quiet for months..."

"My guess is that a fight broke out at the base or something, who knows...you know how rowdy the lesser companies can get when they don't have crap to do. Anyway, Elliot's trustin' us to figure out what's going on...just be glad we actually have an assignment for once."

"Why didn't we retire?" Jazz asked.

"Cause neither of us wanted to," Dash chuckled.

It had been six months since the Reaper forces had attacked New Alexandria, six months since Alex had fallen. A week following his disappearance, Alex's connection with the mutual mind bank had finally gone quiet, signifying death...the experience had been much more painful than any of them could imagine, Piermont was barely able to survive that first night without his rider, and now, six months later, no one knew where the dragon was. Most of the militia figured he had run off to suicide, but no one knew for sure, Dash and Jazz, the only two remaining active servicemen could still sense he was alive, by some miracle. It didn't take long following Alex's death for Alpha Company to collapse and fall apart, and within a week following the loss of contact, Alpha Company had disbanded, each member running off into the winds. Only Dash and Jazz had remained as active soldiers in the militia, but with Alpha Company disavowed and nothing to antagonize the militia since Ares' escape, they were little more than military police anymore.

With the dissolution of Alpha Company, Elliot had risen to command the entire Terminator Militia, since not a single individual within the mutant division desired to assume the mantle left vacant by Alex's passing. "I'm going to be honest..." Jazz sighed, "And I know I've said this a hundred times before...but I miss Alpha Company."

"Same here," Dash replied sadly, "Didn't realize life would be so boring without 'em. You know, you get used to being there, then when it's taken away from you...y'know? What's left? What's there to do? If I knew I'd spend the rest of my days running patrols when the weather is subzero, I would have retired with everyone else and returned to Equestria."

"What's stopping you from going now?" Jazz smirked, "Not like you got anyone to go back to anymore, or anything tethering you here."

"Commitments," Dash chuckled sadly, "Elliot's health is deteriorating, he can't do things like he used to. Hell, all he does anymore is sit behind that desk of his. We're grunts now."

"We were Alpha...we shouldn't have to do grunt work."

"Yeah...well Alpha Co. doesn't exist anymore."

"Where is everyone, you think?"

Dash shrugged, "I don't know, dude...Ruby and Sapphire are still at that aquarium, Spyro and Cyn went back home to the Realms with their kids, Piermont and Aria are Christ knows where...Reverend's running the church now...we're here...I think just about everyone else ran off to join the Revolution."

"That's Alex's brother's army, right?"

"Yup..." then, "We gettin' any closer to the distress signal? If this snow gets any deeper, I'm gonna be pissing icicles and shitting snowballs."

"Little by little," Jazz sighed, "The storm's messing with the computer...keeps locking up on me."

"Great...just...do me a favor. If I kill over from the cold...please don't pull a Han Solo on me, I don't wanna be some kinda squishy sleeping bag."

"It's not that cold out here, Dash."

"Bullshit it isn't! Gotta be subzero!"

"It's fine."

"Yeah? Well take off all that fancy armor and we'll see how comfortable you are...you forget I ain't wearing anything warm."

Jazz grinned, "What? You wanna see me running around in my birthday suit?"

"You're a rabbit, you got fur, and no other member of your kind wears clothes, doubt it's gonna be that shocking."

"Correction, _anthropomorphic_ rabbit."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah...fuck off, Furry."

"Also, most of my kind is in hibernation."

"Excuses, excuses..." but she said this in light humor, "So...we there yet?"

"Getting close..." Jazz replied, frowning, noticing something was off.

"You said that five minutes ago, bud...c'mon, gimme somethin'! Throw me a bone or something..."

"Wait a sec...hold for a moment."

" _What_!? You kiddin' me? I ain't stoppin'! Sooner we get this done, sooner we can go back inside. It may be boring, but I prefer the nice and cozy guardhouse over being out in this frozen hell."

"Guardhouse doesn't have heating..."

"We got those little heater fan things, I beg to differ..."

"Seriously, Dash, stop!"

"Ugh! Fine!" and she paused in place, "Make it quick, it's already so cold I can cut glass with my teats."

Jazz smacked the display, "Something's wrong..."

"What?"

"I...don't know for sure. Picking up a lot of electrical interference, and..." his eyes suddenly widened as the single distress blip on the radar screen became first a dozen, then what seemed to be a hundred different blips, all flashing at once, "Uh...this isn't supposed to happen."

"What? I can't see..."

Jazz leaned forward, showing the display to Dash.

"The hell?" she replied, "That's weird..."

Dismounting the pegasus, Jazz continued towards the base on foot, "We're almost there, follow me."

"Right behind you, bud."

"Hmm..." he suddenly began, "Did an EMP go off over here?"

"Do I _look_ like I know? You forget, we don't know jack anymore. They just send us out on these boring patrols, we don't get the fun missions anymore."

"It was a rhetorical question..." Jazz replied bitterly, still fiddling with the computer.

"Yeah? So was mine."

Finally, the base came into sight, emerging as an eerie black silhouette from the relentless whiteout. As they entered the compound through the busted down chain link gate, the world became eerily quieter as the wind died down, broken by the walls and various structures, and even the snow seemed to thin out, with the structures blocking it out. The compound was eerily quiet, holding an almost haunting feel to it, and both of the former Alpha Company members felt as if they were being watched.

"Getting some _Silent Hill_ vibes..." Dash began, "Better keep an eye out, who knows what's waiting for us..."

"This place looks...empty...did the soldiers just up and leave?" Jazz asked, looking around with wide eyes at the surrounding buildings, and he flinched, abruptly looking down as he stepped on a busted door. Kicking it, he turned to look around him again, "Looks like something happened..." and he withdrew his silenced AK47.

"I dunno...but I don't like it, something doesn't feel right..."

"Yeah, I hear you on that one, Dash."

"Stay frosty..." Dash replied, "Who _knows_ what to expect..."

Slowly, carefully, quietly, they entered the main facility, Jazz activating the flashlight mounted to the bottom rail of his weapon, looking around the darkness.

Dash tried a nearby light switch, finding it did nothing, "Power's out..."

"Watch your six," Jazz replied, "Something's _definitely_ not right here..." and he tapped his earpiece, "Bronze Eagle, this is Shadow, do you copy?"

Silence.

"This is Shadow, do you copy, over?"

Still nothing.

"The storm's probably dicking with comms," Dash replied, nodding forward, "We're on our own...for now anyway."

As they crawled through the facility, they noticed that several doors were beaten down, the rooms beyond trashed, blood everywhere, with no bodies in sight.

"I _really_ don't like this, Jazz..." Dash began, sounding unsure, "Perhaps we should go back outside and wait until we can get a hold of Elliot."

When they entered the war room, their eyes widened at the sight before them, "Well..." Jazz began, "We found the bodies..."

Littering the room where odd, mechanical spikes, standing upright. Laying impaled on the spikes were several still, stiff, partially-huskified corpses. "Oh shit..." Dash replied in a harsh whisper, mouth agape, slowly stepping back, "Jazz...we need to get out of here!"

"We can't just leave them here!" Jazz replied, "We need to destroy them!"

"How!?" Dash replied, "We can't get a hold of Command, and even if we _could_ , there's no way we can have an accurate artillery or even air strike in this weather!"

"Maybe we can access the armory? Get some C4 and blow this whole place sky high?"

"Power's out!"

"Maybe we can turn it back on?"

"Negative," Dash replied, "I checked out the fuse box room thing on our way in here...she's all shot to hell."

"Great..."

""We should really leave though..." Dash began, wearing a nervous expression, "Before we wake these things up...we need to tell Elliot about this..."

"Yeah? And what's _he_ gonna do?"

"A lot more than we can right now...we may just have to wait until the storm passes first, then blow this place to kingdom come."

Jazz gulped, "So the Reapers are back..."

"Looks that way," Dash replied grimly, "I was hoping that the one that attacked us was just a stray."

"The others ain't gonna take this kindly."

"Oh fugging well, they'll have to get used to it. If the Reapers are back, we have a major problem on our hands. We can hardly take _one_ down at a time...to take on the _entire_ armada...?"

"Guess there's a first time for everything then, huh?" and Jazz nodded towards the hall leading back the way they had come, "Let's get back to New Alexandria...Elliot's gonna wanna hear this ASAP, especially if we can't dispatch these things...hope he won't be pissed we're just leaving them here."

As they exited the building, entering back out into the compound, they found that the storm had receded slightly. Dash took this opportunity to try and contact Elliot again, once more to no avail. As they were about to pass through the gate, back into the frozen wastes, they heard a loud, mechanical snarl, and they instantly turned around, finding a single husk stagger out of a building, lumbering towards them, limbs and head flailing. "FUCKING HELL!" Jazz exclaimed as the creature tackled him to the ground, clawing and slashing at his armor, stabbing its head towards the rabbit. Reaching for a piece of debris and smashing it against the creature's head with a resounding crack, dazing it briefly, Jazz reached for his dropped weapon, firing several blind bursts towards the creature, putting it down onto the ground. As it started to pick itself up, Jazz walked over to it, placing the barrel of his weapon to the back of its head and pulling the trigger.

They heard several more snarls and growls, and they were suddenly aware as dozens more husks raced towards them, pouring out of doorways, through windows, running towards them out of every building in the area. Jazz and Dash worked to bring them down, and once the last one fell, the two regrouped at the gate, out of breath.

"This isn't good at all!" Dash exclaimed, wearing a terrified expression, "If the Reapers are back..."

"It's not like there's anything we can do, Dash," he replied, shaking his head, "Come, let's get back to New Alexandria. We need to warn Elliot about this ASAP."

"What are we gonna do against these... _things_!?" Dash asked, "Even _Alpha Company_ had a hard time dealing with these things! Now we're minus Alpha, the _hell_ we gonna do!?"

"We'll figure out something!" Jazz replied gravely, "For now, let's just concentrate on getting our asses back to New Alexandria! We have a walk ahead of us...now, let's go," and he turned to leave.

"We can't just leave these things here!" Dash exclaimed, "If they get out...!"

Jazz snarled towards her, "And what are we gonna do? Huh? We're on our own out here, two against Christ knows how many, with no backup, almost no ammunition left, unable to make contact with _anybody_! If you wanna stay here and keep guard, then be my guest, but _I'm_ heading back to the city!" and Jazz walked through the gate, out into the frozen wasteland.

Before he could get very far, Dash, unable to fly due to the strong winds, raced to catch up to him, "Wait for me! Dammit, Jazz!"

They arrived in New Alexandria an hour later, making their way back to the military district. Elliot was, as usual, in the war room, plotting out the next batch of patrols. When Dash and Jazz entered the room, Elliot, without looking up, began, "So...figure out what the deal with that distress beacon was?" and he submitted to another bout of coughs, pressing a stained handkerchief against his mouth.

"We've...got a problem..." Jazz began, "A very _big_ one..."

"What's going on?" the general asked, and the rabbit looked uneasily towards Dash, who stepped forward.

"We checked out the source of the signal. It was one of our bases in the middle of the Burned Lands, built near that Reaper we felled awhile back."

"And...?"

"When we got there," Jazz began, "It was overrun by Husks..."

Elliot's expression suddenly became very grim and worrisome.

"Elliot...the Reapers are back," Dash replied.

"Shit!" Elliot swore, stomping around the room.

"What are we gonna do?" Jazz asked, "I mean..." and he scratched his head, "Even Alpha Company had difficulty with those things...and Alpha's gone..."

"Then maybe it's high time Alpha gets back together," he growled, "We'll track 'em down, convince them to reunite, even if it's just long enough to take these damn things down."

"But Elliot," Dash began, "Alpha's scattered to the winds, half of 'em went off the grid after Alex fell, and even those who didn't..." she shook her head, "Alex was the glue that kept us together, now he's gone...we'll be decimated by the Reapers if our own little war among ourselves doesn't do us in first."

"Well, tough tits," Elliot growled, "Without Alpha, we don't stand a chance where we are. You'll just have to put up with yourselves long enough to neutralize this threat, then I don't care _what_ you girls do once everything's done and over with. Listen, we need Alpha Company, I know it's been hard these past few months, but we don't stand a ghost of a chance without 'em."

Dash sighed, "We'll see what we can do...no promises."

"How many of your friends _have_ you kept track of since Alpha disbanded?"

Both Dash and Jazz shrugged, "We know where a few guys are...but that's about it. I know several of them went to join the Revolution, that's Alex's kid brother's army...maybe if you get in contact with them, they can help..."

"Meanwhile," Jazz interrupted, nodding towards Dash, "Guess we gotta run some errands?"

Dash nodded, then turned to face Elliot, "Do you know if Pierre's still alive?"

"C'mon sexy! Take 'em all off!" a drunken, human-form Piermont laughed, downing another beer. He sat at a table by himself, drowning his sorrows at the Supernova nightclub in New Alexandria's southern business district. Both Cherub and Aria, in human forms, were on the stage, part of the strippers performing for the audience that night. "YO!" he shouted to a passing staff member, "I want another beer!"

Dash and Jazz entered the nightclub, keeping to the perimeter of the room as the dodged the drunken, horny men standing around and catcalling the dancers. The place reeked of beer, cheap perfume and cologne, sweat, and faintly of cigarette smoke, and a rainbow of different colored, epileptic flashes of light added to the deafening ambiance of the room. Even the booming dubstep was drowned out by the rowdy roars and drunken laughter of the packed nightclub customers, stuffed nearly wall-to-wall in large, open room.

"This is disgusting..." Dash scoffed.

"I second that," Jazz replied, stepping out of the way of a drunken man who shoved past him, doubling over and vomiting onto the floor behind them.

"Oi!" Piermont roared in wild laughter, "Don't hold back, sexy! I got plenty of Washingtons ready for you!"

"So this is where you spend your days?" Dash chuckled, grimly, sitting down on the opposite side of the human-form dragon, his hair dirty and in disarray, wearing a five o'clock shadow, his clothes stained and appearing not to have been washed in weeks.

The table before him was littered in empty beer bottles of various brands, and as he downed yet another one, he narrowed his eyes, staring at them with a dumb expression, "Who the hell are _you_?" he slurred.

"Pierre...we have a problem," Dash began.

"Pierre?" and he blinked, dumbfounded, "Wait, who's Pierre?"

"Snap out of it, stupid," Jazz scoffed.

"Who you callin' stupid?" he hissed, standing up, "I'll kick your ass you scrawny little...!" but as he took a swing, Jazz dodged it, Dash instantly slipping between the two effortless overpowering and taking down the drunken dragon, pinning him to the ground.

"Settle down, buddy," Dash replied, holding the squirming, protesting dragon to the ground.

"What kinda bullshit is this! I'll make you fuckin' pay! You goddamn motherfucking assho..." but he was nearly knocked unconscious by swift punch from Dash's hoof.

"Get a hold of yourself! This is serious! Do you remember us? It's me, Dash, this is Jazz, remember?"

He blinked stupidly, "Dash? Jazz? Oh yeah...we kicked ass together...shoot, that's been how long ago, I...I kinda forgot..."

"Pierre," Jazz began, crouching down to the ground, "The Reapers are back, we found one of our bases overrun by Husks...Elliot's calling for Alpha to get back together until the Reapers are put down."

"Reapers!?" and Piermont instantly shot up, mouth twisting into an animalian snarl of disgust, "Those bastards! I'll make them pay for what they did to Alex!" and it took the combined efforts of both Dash _and_ Jazz in order to restrain him. As the trio returned to the lobby of the Supernova, Dash detouring to pay off Piermont's alcohol, they were surprised to find two girls calling them from behind. Turning around, they watched as the girls approached them, both scantily clad in a lace bra and panties.

"Who the hell..."

"It's us..." One of the girls, a blonde, began, "Cherub and Aria..." and in two consecutive flashes of light, they returned to their natural forms, ripping the clothes they had been wearing in the process, "Been a long time," Cherub continued.

Dash frowned, "Jeez...you two have fallen pretty hard, huh?"

Both of them shrugged, with Aria saying, "It's hard to find employment when you're a soldier, it's been hard for us a lot lately..."

Cherub asked then, "So what brings _you_ two here to this little corner of hell...is Pierre in trouble with the law again?"

"No," Dash began, and she nodded towards Jazz, "The Reapers are back, we found a base of ours located just north of here overrun by Husks...Elliot issued a call to bring Alpha Company back together, at least until the threat is neutralized."

"Damn it, I was afraid they would come back," Aria sighed, lowering her head.

"Elliot's trying to track down where the rest of our guys went...meanwhile, Dash and I are trying to recruit the ones we _know_ of," Jazz replied, crossing his arms.

"Where we heading to next?" Cherub asked.

Dash replied, "Heading to that theme park just north of here...last I heard, that's where Ruby and Sapphire ended up."

"Guess we're right behind you then, just let me go talk to our bosses real quick..." and Cherub ran off.

An awkward silence fell among them for awhile before Dash finally spoke, addressing Aria, "So...strippers huh?"

"Shut up," the servine replied quickly, nervously, blushing like a schoolgirl. It's the only place we could find employment...no one else would accept us. Gotta pay the bills somehow."

Soon after, Cherub returned, nodding towards them, "Right...let's go to the aquarium."

As the group arrived at their destination, they finished their conversation, discussing what had become of them and where they had been following their disbanding six months prior. Once they had finally exchanged stories, they approached the door leading out to the showroom, where they spied two staff members talking with one another. "Yo!" Dash began, "We're looking for two dolphins, Ruby and Sapphire, you've seen them?"

Both staff nodded, pointing towards the showroom, "They're performing right now, why?"

Jazz flashed his ID, "Under orders from General Elliot."

They both nodded, stepping out of the way, apologizing for the interruption, allowing the group to enter the darkened showroom. Once more, upon entry, they were assailed by booming dubstep, although the general ambiance was much more acceptable than what they had encountered in the Supernova. The showroom itself was filled to the brim with customers, and the group remained by the door between the lobby and the showroom for a few minutes, watching the performance. Ruby and Sapphire stuck out easily from the crowd, as the duo performed perfectly in sync with one another, and managed to steal the show from the rest of the dolphins by their more complicated and flashy maneuvers.

"Well...at least they're still alive..." Dash sighed, "That's a relief."

"Why?" Jazz asked, "Didn't think they would be?"

"Well, I didn't expect _Ruby_ to still be...you know how she was with Alex...as for Sapphire, I'd imagine if Ruby offed herself, Sapphire would have shortly after...I'm glad we went back for him after all."

They waited until the show had ended and the dolphins returned to their living tanks before Dash led the group through the exiting visitors, heading towards the back of the showroom. Passing through an 'employees only' door, they found the rest of the trainers attending to their dolphins, all except for Ruby and Sapphire, who, smiling, nuzzled and swam circles around each other. Ruby was the first one to spy the group, and her eyes widened as she hurriedly climbed out of the water, running over to them and hugging them each tightly. Sapphire was soon behind her, although much more in control of himself, merely smiling and nodding towards the visitors.

"Good to see you, too, Ruby," Dash chuckled, "How you and Sapphire doing?"

The female dolphin shrugged, "Been better, I suppose..." then, "What brings you guys here? It's been so long..."

Here, Dash frowned, and the general tone of the group darkened considerably. When silence remained between them, Ruby also frowned, and sounding worried, asked, "What's wrong?"

"The Reapers are back," Jazz began, "Husks took over one of our bases just north of here...Elliot called for the reformation of Alpha Company, at least until the Reapers are taken care of."

Silence fell between them for several more moments, until Ruby, her mood lightening, spoke up, "Well, I'm glad the band can finally get back together...to be honest, I miss the days when we were a big happy family..."

"Well," and Dash genuinely smiled, "Guess what, Ruby? Here's our chance to be a family again."

An excited Ruby then hugged all of them again, with Sapphire finally breaking his statuesque demeanor to hug them all. "So..." the bull dolphin asked, "Where are the others?"

"That's who we're looking for," Dash replied, "Alpha's scattered to the winds, Elliot's been looking for them, he'll report back to us whenever he finds somebody...I just hope that everyone's willing to get back together. I know the last six months have been hard...but hopefully things will get better from here."


	6. Chapter V: Back in Action

_**Chapter V**_ **:**

 **-''Back in Action''-**

 **-Chicago, Illinois-**

 **- _04 January 2015_ -**

 **- _2008 Hours_ -**

" _The pain...No...make it stop..."_

 _You did this to yourself._

" _Please...I don't want this to happen..."_

 _You truly are a queer one, aren't you?_

" _I can't take it...the emptiness..."_

 _Any other would have already submitted and surrendered, but you...no, you are not like any other._

" _Alex...he's gone...it hurts...his absence..."_

 _What has kept you going? What keeps you alive? What gives you the will to survive when any of your friends would have given up?_

" _The void...I'm scared of the void, the emptiness of death, I'm scared of what waits for me, what's on the other side..."_

 _You? Afraid? Where is that pride that you show the others?_

" _That is not who I am!"_

 _Yet that is what you sell yourself as._

" _I just want him back...I miss him."_

 _The only way he will come back is if you surrender to the dark._

" _Alex...I failed you...I miss you...I love you..."_

 _He's waiting..._

"Hey, Pierre, get up!" and the human-form dragon's eerie emerald eyes shot open. He looked up to face the others inside of the Hornet, having nodded off, wearing a vicious snarl.

"Hell you want, Spearow?" Piermont growled, sitting up in his seat, popping his neck.

"We're almost there," the purple dragon replied, turning his attention back to the window staring out over the city.

"Yeah? Good for you."

While the rest of the newly reformed Alpha Company looked out through the windows of the Hornet at the city spreading out below, Piermont remained in his seat, head lowered, eyes closed, hands hanging loosely between his outspread legs. The nightmares were persisting, his inner voice clashed with instinct, and the war going on in his head was threatening to drive him mad. Ever since Alex had passed, he had struggled to maintain the will to live. Bonded dragons never managed to survive the death of their rider, usually with the death of the rider, the dragon would either berserk out and have to be put down or would take to the skies and leave, never to be seen again. Although most bonded dragons suicided or lost their minds and had to be put killed, Piermont proved to be an exception. Even though the gaping emptiness and loneliness left open by Alex's death was weighing heavily on him, he refused to take the coward's way out and surrender. He had been told that losing a rider was the worst possible feeling imaginable for a bonded dragon, and now he had the thrill of experience the truth in that statement first hand. It felt as if 90% of his identity had been ripped from him, he felt naked, alone, exposed, and empty. Alcohol had done well to derail his attention from the gaping void in his mind and body, but now that he was back with Alpha Company, free of his medicine and escape, he could feel the stress mounting on him.

Leaving Alpha Company had helped as well, without being surrounded by his friends, there was no reminder or memories he had to worry about, but now he was back in the ring, and he could not turn his mind away. He was broken, his very soul shattered beyond repair, all humor and lightheartedness in his persona had completely washed away, leaving an empty shell, a husk to be filled only by a burning desire for death and destruction. He held a primal lust to spill the blood of those responsible for his rider and bonded partner's death, and he could only grin maddeningly at the realization that if he managed to keep from suiciding, he would eventually berserk out. Who knew how many lives he would claim before Alpha Company was forced to put him down. The others seemed to notice this, as he was aware that they kept their distance from him, and he genuinely relished in their fear. He was hardly holding onto his sanity with a single thread, he was a ticking time-bomb, and it was only a matter of time before he completely snapped.

 _How are you doing?_ Rapid asked him, the skunk wearing a worried expression.

Piermont only snarled again, _Leave me be, Rev. Would hate to lose control over myself and cut you into a hundred tiny, bloody chunks..._ and he chuckled menacingly. The skunk, eyes widening, quickly backed away from him, casting a distrustful look in his direction before returning his attention to the window. Piermont reached to his waist, withdrawing his combat knife, which he began to polish and sharpen. Every time he closed his eyes, he heard the screams of the dead and dying in his ears, he could feel his heart beating heavily in his chest, and he craved the essence of blood, to taste, smell, and bathe in it Sheathing his knife to avoid an incident, he sat back in his seat, stiff and erect. Martaanean dragons could see in auras, every living thing carried its own unique aura, and he was stunned by just how sharp they all were, as if he had been sedated. The auras of his comrades pulsed strongly with each beat of their heart, and it took every ounce of control to avoid losing it right now. Their auras screamed out at him, taunting him, blinding him.

The only way to relieve his suffering was to suffocate the auras by slaughtering their owners. In addition to this, their Hornet's pilot had injured himself earlier, and the smell of blood was incredibly strong in his sensitive nose, tantalizing. Although Martaanean Forest and Field dragons, the former of which he was, were usually herbivorous, he found that he was struggling to stave off a craving for the taste of blood, and much like the odor produced by a sexually aroused female dragon tended to trigger instinct and override self-control in nearby dragonian males, driving them to act out violently and unpredictably with an overwhelming urge to mount and mate with the female in question, the coppery aroma of blood to his sensitive sense of smell threatened to override his self-control, sending him into a murderous rampage, to which he would not be able to recover from if he submitted. All of this and more piled onto him, and he could only pray that he would be able to maintain his sanity, as he was so close to losing it.

Currently, the only chance he had was to keep in mind his desire to avenge Alex's death. He set that objective in his mind as his mission, giving himself something to live for, something to fight for, and he sighed with relief as this eased his suffering...at least slightly. Unfortunately, this brief respite was only a bandage on a mortal wound. It would work, temporarily, but it was only delaying the inevitable, there was no escaping his ultimate fate. He was living on borrowed time. He could only hope that when he finally broke, he was far enough away from his comrades that they were not caught in the crossfire, and that someone was there to put him down when the time arrived. It wasn't a matter of 'if', it was a matter of 'when', and _when_ his clock ran up, he prayed he was surrounded by his enemies, so that they could be the ones to put him out of his misery. He didn't want anyone in Alpha Company or even the Terminator Militia, _especially_ Cherub or his dragonling son, to have to be there when he finally lost control over himself for good. He didn't want to hurt them in his blind, insane, insatiable rage, and he didn't want to put them through the pain of having to kill him. He closed his eyes to shelter himself from their loud auras, only to find images relating to battle, death, and destruction flood his mind's eye. He forced these aside, temporarily, praying for relief and mercy before his homicidal, wild, soulless eyes snapped open once again and he readied his weapon, they were nearing their landing zone.

"It's about to get a little rough back there," the Hornet's pilot exclaimed, "Reapers have locked onto us."

Soon after the discovery that the Reapers had returned, they received a report that several cities, including Chicago, Illinois, were under attack by the Reapers. Unfortunately, it wasn't just one they were dealing with this time. At least five Reapers were visible, marching throughout the city, including an unknown amount of Husks and people who had been brainwashed by the machines, but not converted into mindless Husks, known as the Indoctrinated.

As the Hornet swerved around in the skies to avoid the fire from one of the nearby Reapers, Spyro reminded them of their mission, "Okay, so our mission is to try and repel the Reapers from the city. Word is they've established a base of sorts in a defunct steel mill, formerly used by the _Maxia_ during the Second Civil War as a weapons manufacturing plant. Let's see if we can get to that steel mill and find a way to drive them off there, we can't fire the _Ring_ without leveling the entire city, and everyone in it."

"Evacuations?" Rapid asked.

"Negative, it's not safe, and we don't have _nearly_ enough time or resources to evacuate one of the largest cities in the United States."

"What's the plan then?" Jazz asked, "Unless you forgot how hard it is to take these damn things down."

"I didn't," Spyro replied, "And that's what we're gonna figure out. _All_ of Beta Company has been dispatched to the sites known to be under attack by those damn machines, we have a pretty hefty chunk here with us today, since we know it's possible to melt these things down with dragonfire."

"Yeah? Cept it took us like a half hour to destroy the Reaper that attacked Connorsville last year," Rapid sighed, "We had at least three wings helping us there."

"Well, we have ten wings of dragons and riders here with us today, we may just have to resort to taking down one at a time."

"Gonna be fun," Dash replied grimly, "Since while we're concentrating on _one_ , the rest of its friends will be around firing at is at the same time!"

"It's gonna have to be a risk we take," Spyro sighed, "I know it's not perfect, but it's all we can do, at least right now anyway."

"All right!" their pilot began, finally lowering at the LZ, "Can't stay here for long, we're sitting ducks, so you guys gotta get out pronto!"

"Roger," Dash replied, and Alpha Company quickly readied themselves before Rapid slid open the side door of the Hornet, dropping out onto the cracked and crater-laden asphalt street below. The rest of Alpha Company dropped out around him, running for cover around various pieces of destroyed vehicles, both civilian and military. All around them, they could hear gunfire and the trumpeting of the Reapers as friendly forces engaged the genocidal machines.

"I won't be able to land again until you clear the area," their pilot continued over the radio line, "So you guys will have to either hold your own, drive them off, or get somewhere safe before you can be extracted...be careful down there, Blackbird, out."

The skies were dark, lit only by gunfire and the plasma beams fired from the Reapers' cannons. The world reeked of death and decay, and all around them, accompanying the usual music of battle, were the trumpets of the machines, the mechanical garbles and snarls of the Husks, and the strange, deep, mechanical mumbling of what could only be assumed as the Indoctrinated.

"Hell do we start?" Dash asked.

"We need to find that steel mill."

"Why would the omnipresent Reapers and their hivemind need a place to set up base?"

"I can only assume it has something to do with the Husks or the Indoctrinated."

"Speak of the devil," Jazz began, firing towards a group of Husks charging towards him, "Looks like they know we're here!"

Bringing down the first wave, they moved forward, taking cover behind a destroyed brick building along the side of the broken road. On the opposite side of the building, the Reaper that had been firing on their Hornet marched passed, wasting everything in its path.

"Stick to the shadows," Spyro commanded, "Don't try to attract its attention," and he moved forward, out of cover, heading to the next available piece, another building just down the street. As Alpha finally arrived at the next one, they turned to watch as the Reaper stepped down upon the building they had just been hiding behind, continuing forward, seemingly oblivious to them.

"Where's this damn steel mill?" Jazz asked, "Or are we literally just going to run around blind until we chance upon it?"

"You tell me," Spyro snorted, "You were with the _Maxia_."

"My memory as the Shade King is foggy at best," the rabbit replied darkly, "Plus, I wasn't necessarily 'all there' anyway when I was terrorizing the country. Oh, and I also died between then and now...so that probably had an effect on me, too."

"Solution seems simple enough," Rapid interrupted, firing towards a group of Husks charging at them from the rear with his AK47. The bandoleers of ammunition around his torso and the .30 caliber HMG strapped to his back clattered as he shielded his face against an explosion from one of the Indoctrinated's grenades. He shot down the approaching soldier before returning his attention to Alpha Company, "Find out where these things are coming from, there you go."

Spyro risked leaving cover to check out what they were fighting. Unlike the Husks, covered completely in metallic flesh, completely devoid of hair and usually nude, with any sex-defining genitalia mutilated beyond recognition, the Indoctrinated still appeared to be human. They still were clothed, albeit their clothes were dirty and old, they still had hair, but they had blue, metallic tendrils spiderwebbing across their entire bodies, with the apparent source of the clusters differing from corpse to corpse.

"Incoming!" Rapid exclaimed, "Look out, Spyro!" and the purple dragon charged back into cover just as another Reaper appeared from behind the building Alpha Company was pressing themselves up against, firing its cannon in a sweeping motion across the street around it, incinerating everything in its path, regardless if it was on their side or not.

Spyro caught his breath for a few moments before pushing his way to the front of the squad, "Right...let's keep moving up the street. Reverend's got the right idea, if we can follow these...things...to their source, it _should_ take us to wherever they're based at."

"You seem pretty sure," Jazz began, grimacing.

"Well, these things don't necessarily have the same freedom of movement that the Reapers do, they can't fly, they can't drive, they don't seem capable of teleporting or warping around, so they have to be deployed from _somewhere_ ," Dash replied.

"They seem to be following orders, too..." Cynder frowned, "The way they attack, the way they move...there's strategy to it. The Husks aren't capable of thought, they're mindless zombies, and I think the Reapers are too prideful to communicate to their forces..."

"So what?" Spyro asked, "You think they have some sort of chain of command?"

"Course they do," Piermont frowned, "Betcha five bucks the Indoctrinated are the commanders."

"Yeah, but I doubt the Reapers would even care to communicate with the Indoctrinated, either. Unless they just... _know_. I don't really know the extent of the hivemind, so I don't know how orders work through there."

"Well, maybe the Reapers only direct their orders to a general or generals of sorts, who then are charged with relaying the orders to the rest of the Indoctrinated, who then control the Husks," Dash replied, "I heard earlier that one of our guys discovered that killing an Indoctrinated will instantly collapse the structure the surrounding Husks maintain, and on a few occasions, even _killed_ the Husks...they just...dropped dead once their 'leader' died..."

"So we got a battle plan, wonderful," Jazz replied, "Let's keep moving."

Taking down the Reaper forces while evading the machines themselves, Alpha Company continued moving uphill, following the winding road to the distant steel mill, located in the heart of the invasion force. Alpha Company noticed that there had to have been at least _some_ semblance of structure and order for the Reapers, since the foot soldiers attacked in waves, and even seemed to be using strategy in their assault, which was more than the mindless Husks were capable of doing. There were few Indoctrinated they encountered, but when they did, they were quick to take the creatures down. _Still_ , the Husks seemed to be acting in a strategic way, alarming the temporarily reformed unit.

"I don't understand..." Rapid began, out of breath, diving for cover behind a destroyed vehicle, "How is this possible? How are they doing this?"

"I don't know," Dash replied, frowning, "But I don't like it..."

"It can't be the Indoctrinated," Jazz added, "I haven't seen that many, and our forces have apparently encountered them leading squads of Husks."

"Maybe they're learning," Spyro suggested.

"Doubt it," Jazz replied, "The Reapers couldn't care less about there soldiers, the ends justify the means with these guys," and he smirked, "You thought _I_ , as the Shade King,was bad about forcing my men to their deaths to complete the mission?" and he chuckled grimly, "These guys are much worse. _EVERYTHING_ is expendable to them, even other Reapers."

"So how are they doing this?" Cynder asked.

"I don't know, and quite frankly, I don't like it."

"Who cares," Piermont snarled, "They're all going to hell anyway!"

"Dammit, Pierre!" Spyro growled, "Don't be reckless!"

"Fuck off, Spearow, I ain't gonna stop till every last one of these motherfuckers is dead, and I don't give two shits what happens in the process."

"Don't be stupid," Cynder growled, "Now we need to keep moving! We're sitting ducks here, and I don't know how omnipresent these machines are!"

Suddenly, their radio buzzed, and Bleu came on the line, "Um...hi...um...I got something you guys might be...uh...interested in."

"What's wrong?" Cynder asked.

"Um...we're getting some really weird readings at that steel mill...a lotta radio chatter, heavily encrypted."

"So?" Piermont growled.

"So...um...no other communication, even inter-Reaper communication is this encrypted...something's _definitely_ in that steel mill."

"We're heading there now..." then, Cynder added, "Where's Elliot?"

"I...I'm not sure, to be honest, he said he had a few calls to make and he ran out...um...listen...uh...just be careful down there, okay?"

"Will do."

" _SHIT!_ Incoming!" a voice cried out from behind them, and Alpha turned around to watch as a massive horde of between thirty and fifty Husks charged up the hill towards them.

With the scattered friendlies engaging the approaching troops, Alpha Company continued pushing up the hill, but not before Rapid called them to a halt, "Uh...pull back!"

Immediately, another large group of Husks charged down from the blown open, rusted steel doors leading into the steel mill's compound. The High Command engaged them, and within a few seconds, they had similar reports from both the east _and_ west sides that large groups were approaching them. "They got us encircled..." Jazz spat, "Hope one of you guys has a plan!"

"We need to keep pushing towards the steel mill," Cynder ordered, "We stop now, we're dead!"

"Yeah, and run _right_ into the heart of a frickin' army of these...things!?" Jazz exclaimed, "Brilliant idea!"

"You got any _better_ ideas?" Cynder spat, "Cause the more of _our_ guys fall, the bigger their force becomes! We got no other option, we need to get into that steel mill, maybe there's something in there we can use to ward these things off."

"Reaper on our ten! He's got a lock on!" Rapid shouted, "GET DOWN! _NOW!_ "

Right as he said that, the immense machine appeared ahead of them, and with a bellowing trumpet, charged its cannon towards them. "GET INTO COVER!" Spyro shouted, "QUICKLY!"

As they broke formation to run into whatever cover they could find, the machine fired, onto the street, the blast missing them, but the impact sending them the High Command, along with Rapid and Jazz, through a busted window into the interior of the steel mill. The ceiling collapsed under the impact of the blast, blocking them inside.

" _FUCK_!" Piermont roared.

On the other side, they could hear Simba assure them, "We're gonna fight out way in, you guys hold on for awhile, all right?"

Rudolph then chimed in, "See if you can figure out what Bleu was talking about!"

Once they had recovered from the explosion, they took in their surroundings. It was very dark in here, there didn't seem to be any enemies here, they were out of range of the Reapers themselves, and they could tell by a nearby trumpet that the machine that had locked onto them had moved on. Rapid toggling on the flashlight connected to the bottom of his AK47, he led the others through the dark facility, acrid smoke, scented with burning flesh and rubber, obscuring their view and rendering visibility nearly zero. Occasionally they ran into small pockets of Husks, merely standing around, doing nothing, seeming not to have discovered their presence. As they pressed through the abandoned and run down factory, the smell of hot metal began to overtake the nauseating mixture of aromas that had plagued them since their arrival.

Eventually, the group reached a large, open room. At the top of the room, a busted skylight let in the glow of the fires, giving the room _some_ light, and a catwalk stretched around the perimeter of the room. Just beneath the skylight was the third floor, wrapping around the chamber. "Where the hell are we?" Jazz asked, looking around.

A gritty, mad, mechanical laugh filled the air, instantly sending the group on alert, and a familiar voice rang out, "Well, well, well, it looks like we have some friends here who would like to play!"

Rapid scanned the catwalk and third floor, searching for the source of the echoing voice. They heard the sound of scampering on metal, and Rapid turned the light of his weapon onto a crouching man in armor composed of small steel plates attached to what appeared to be a cloth cloak. He was hunched over, standing in place with a posture not unlike a primate, and he wore a helmet resembling the head and mane of a lion. Laughing maniacally, he hopped across the catwalk, armor clanking, moving very much like a primate.

"Ooh, I am going to have _fun_ with you!"

"Thanatos..." a deep, mechanical voice rang out, and the creature, Thanatos, looked up towards the third floor, where a tall and erect figure emerged from the shadows, leaning on the balcony, "What are you doing, Thanatos?"

"Ares..." he chuckled nervously, "We have some visitors!"

"Do we now?" and he stood erect once more, "Well...I guess we do. Thanatos...take care of them."

"Yes, sir!" and Thanatos leaped over the railing of the catwalk, flipping several times before landing on the ground, still huddled over. "Let's play!"

He leaped into the air towards them, moving with eerie agility and speed. The High Command rolled out of the way of his attack, just as Thanatos leaped into the air once again, doing a corkscrew-like flip in the air, firing a line of throwing knives in their directions before landing on the other side of the arena once again. He stood in place, throwing knives in rapid succession at the encircling Alpha Company, struggling to evade his attack while also approaching him in the process. Just as they reached him, he leaped into the air, grabbing and swinging onto a cable hanging over the arena, flipping around it before pulling himself into a sitting position, perching on the wire. He continued his barrage of throwing knives, and when Alpha Company fired upon them with their weapons, he dodged the attacks with incredible ease, hopping around the arena in a blur.

One of the barrage of bullets ripped through his side, causing an almost black blood to shoot back from behind him. With an animal-like grunt, he ran along the length of the wire, climbing up onto the catwalk and leaping into the air, grabbing onto some cargo net that was attached to the wall. "Ares! DO something!"

"You are a disgrace, Thanatos," Ares growled, mantling over the railing and landing smoothly upon his feet on the floor of the room, withdrawing a long, thin blade from its sheathe on his waist. The blade had an almost audible hum to it, and he jumped back, stomping a foot on the ground, summoning a column of metal and rock to rise from the floor, which he then launched towards Alpha Company, scattering them. They continued their barrage of fire at the approaching Ares, moving very slow and heavy, much slower than his counterpart, but the creature merely held out a hand, stopping the attacks with an earthen shield he summoned from the ground. Once the covering squad moved to reload, Ares slid over to them, lunging with his humming, mechanical blade. Rapid backstepped to avoid the attack, kicking a steel plate up to his hands, which he then held out in front of him like a shield. The humming blade sliced through the sheet of metal like a hot knife through butter, and Rapid smacked the creature with the two plates, sprinting to the other side of the arena, finishing his reload. Just then, Thanatos leaped from his hanging position, flipping several times before landing on the ground with another flurry of throwing knives.

"As one!" Thanatos exclaimed in a laughing mad tone of voice, "They must see the glory of our mission! The glory of the Reapers!"

Alpha Company struggled to balance dodging the incredibly swift and agile Thanatos with the slow and lumbering Ares. Alpha Company tried to fire upon the duo, but found that the indoctrinated soldiers seemed to be able to take the bullets with little to no damage. They couldn't even be halted by the attacks.

"We are Harbinger's generals!" Thanatos laughed, "It works directly through us! You can't even _begin_ to imagine stopping us!"

"Do not become distracted, Thanatos," Ares roared.

"Yes, sir..."

With the High Command distracting the duo, Jazz managed to slip behind Ares, charging towards him, and with a powerful blow with a heavy steel plate, he knocked the Reaper general to the ground in a daze. "Ares!" Thanatos exclaimed, and with an inhuman scream, he charged towards Jazz. The rabbit dodged the attack, and a furious Thanatos, utilizing some form of pyrokinesis, managed to pull the molten steel out from _beneath_ the blast doors marking the ground beneath the catwalk floor they were fighting on, launching the glowing liquid at Alpha Company, dodging the attack as the molten metal melted the catwalk almost instantly. Rapid picking up one of the plates that Ares had severed with his supersonic blade, he tossed it towards Thanatos like a disc, the plate connecting with the creature's torso and sending him flying backwards, smashing into the rail of the catwalk, knocking the wind out of him.

"Enough of this!" the skunk roared, and Thanatos slowly picked himself up, stumbling around, dazed.

Ares also picked himself up off the ground, and with Thanatos flipping into the air, grabbing onto the railing of the catwalk above and swinging onto it before leaping and swinging through one of the support beams for the skylight, disappearing outside, Ares pointed one of the three fingers of his left hand towards them, saying, "Resistant is meaningless, you are only delaying the inevitable!" before he too leaped onto the catwalk, without the flips initiated by Thanatos, launching off of this through the hole in the skylight and vanishing outside.

Out of breath, Alpha Company looked around each other, smiling at their victory, but defeated, knowing that it was not going to be the last time they encountered the generals. Soon after, the rest of Alpha Company arrived, also out of breath, looking exhausted, but otherwise unharmed. "The _hell_ did we _miss_!?" Dash exclaimed, looking around.

"Ares has a new friend," Piermont chuckled darkly, "And those bastards are leading this little invasion force."

Their radios were soon a flurry of bewildered comments from the various squad leaders, "The Reapers are pulling back!?"

"They're retreating!"

"Goodbye you sons of bitches!"

Rapid nodded towards the newly arrived Alpha Company, "Harbinger, who I can only assume is the commander of the Reapers, apparently has elected Ares and someone called Thanatos as its generals."

"It's no wonder they were moving so strategically...Ares and Thanatos must have been pulling the strings," Spyro replied, shaking his head.

"Or this 'Harbinger' was pulling the strings _through_ them," Rapid added, "This is _definitely_ worth looking into...almost necessary if we hope to win an advantage against these things...and _hopefully_ destroy them."

"So Reverend doesn't want spare those who lost their ways?" Cynder grinned mischievously.

Rapid shook his head, switching on the safety of his AK47, "These things...they're not human. Or if they were, they're not anymore...I have no qualms about destroying these perverted excuses for machines."

Spyro looked around the rest of Alpha Company before nodding towards the direction of the entrance to the factory, "I'm gonna call Elliot, let him know what's going on."

As the dragon walked away, Jazz called over to him, "Yeah, you might wanna inform Bleu what we found out about whose commanding the Reapers, too...he'll wanna know that shit. The son of a bitch might even be able to come up with some ingenious battle plan for stopping these things. Cause at this rate, we ain't goin' nowhere fast, we'll kill over with exhaustion before we put a dent in the Reapers' forces."

Spyro only nodded before leaving the room, Cynder trotting along behind him. Rapid, tapping his earpiece, called, "Right, bring our bird down in the courtyard outside the steel mill, just beyond the gates, time for extraction."

Back in New Alexandria, Alpha Company disembarked from their Hornet, finding a small group of Gamma Company troops, accompanied by a very worried-looking Bleu and Fox waiting for them. "What's up?" Dash asked them, approaching them, the rest of Alpha Company behind her.

Bleu and Fox exchanged awkward glances, before, with a sigh, Bleu lowered his head to the ground and Fox nodded towards them, "We need to talk..."

He led them across the tarmac of Anderson Airfield, through the military district to the command center. Once everyone was seated in the conference room just beyond the war room, Bleu and Fox, minus the Gamma Company grunts this time, entered the room with sober expressions.

Silence hanged in the air for several minutes before Fox, with a sigh, said, "I've got some bad news..."

"Where's Elliot?" Ruby asked, sounding worried.

Bleu and Fox once more exchanged glances before turning to face Alpha Company, "Has he told you what's been going on with him?"

They all shook their heads.

Fox sighed again, Bleu remained unmoving, eyes closed, head lowered, "Elliot is...well...he's very sick. He's been sick for quite some time...ever since around the end of the Blood Week Crisis. It started getting bad during Zack's Uprising but...it's taken a major turn for the worse since Alex fell. The treatments, we thought they were working but..."

"What's wrong with him?" Cynder asked, worried.

"Lung cancer," Fox replied soberly, "Advanced stages. He's been seeking treatment for awhile now, but his chemo doesn't seem to be working anymore...he's in the hospital, in critical condition. Odds are, he'll be out of commission for a good long while...meaning it's up to you guys to keep a hold of yourselves. General Erik Heinrich and I can get the rest of the militia if you guys just take care of yourselves..." then, he added, "From now on, you'll be answering to Bleu here. Figured his technological prowess will benefit you against these machines..."

"Will he be all right?" Ruby asked, whining unhappily.

Fox shrugged, "Honestly, no one knows right now. All we can do is hope and pray for the best. Listen guys, everyone has been forced to take on some more responsibilities around here...you know me, I wouldn't ask more of you than I expect you can handle...but I _really_ need you guys here. I know it's been hard since Alex fell, and I know you've fallen out with each other...but you are still the face of the militia, you guys are still a huge part of the family. I need you guys to set aside your differences, to stick together and take care of each other. Once news gets around of Elliot's condition, morale is going to take a fall, during a crisis like this, that can only mean bad tidings. I need you guys to help keep morale up...can I trust you to do this for me?"

They all nodded, with Cynder saying, "Of course, Fox...we got this."

He smiled sadly, "Good..." then, "I don't know how long Elliot will be out for...hell we're not even sure if he will survive through this. It's imperative we all stick together here. Dismissed..."


	7. Chapter VI: Spring Break

_**Chapter VI**_ **:**

 **-''Spring Break''-**

 **-Panama City Beach, Florida-**

 **- _20 March 2015_ -**

 **- _0608 Hours_ -**

"Hey..." Ruby opened her eyes to the soft voice speaking to her. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she looked around the darkened interior of the Hornet, trying to find the source of the voice. Her eyes widened as she spied who was sitting across from her, smiling softly.

"A...Alex?" she whispered back.

"I love you, Ruby."

"Alex!" she began, smiling widely, running up to him and embracing him tightly, burying her head in his chest.

He wrapped an arm around her, kissing the top of her head, "Ruby..."

"I missed you, Alex..." she began, tears welling in her eyes, "Why didn't you tell me you were alive? Where have you been!?"

He stroked her face, placing a hand against her chest, "I've been with you the whole time," and he smiled sadly, "In your heart."

"Please...don't leave me again, Alex. I thought you were...when I saw you..."

But he silenced her by placing a finger against her mouth, "Shh...don't say another word..." and he hugged her tightly, "I love you, my little gemstone..."

"What happened? I thought you were..."

"Who said I wasn't?" he said to her, "Our love knows no boundaries, huh? Everything will be okay, just you see. You just gotta stay with me, girl. I won't leave you, just so long as you don't leave me."

"I...I can't believe you're alive..." and she began to cry again, refusing to let him go, "Please, don't let this all just be a lie...don't let this be a dream..." then, after several moments, an idea came to mind, "Prove to me that this isn't a lie..." and she looked up to him, grabbing his hand and placing it against her heart again, "Show me that you love me...mate with me...I don't care if anyone sees...I just want to feel you again, to know you're alive...to know that this isn't just some lie, or a hallucination."

He chuckled as she laid down, and he climbed on top of her, "If that's the way you want it...I guess I'm long overdue, huh?"

She nodded vigorously, eyes shining. He kissed her, and within a minute, he was already inside of her, rocking gently forward. She closed her eyes in bliss, overjoyed at his presence. She shuddered against him, and he soon reached his climax. Crying out, nearly collapsing into tears of joy at his presence, she reached her own...

...Just as she awoke inside of the Hornet, laying down, alone, on one of the benches, her nether regions aching and burning tremendously. She sat up, looking around for Alex, only to find that he was nowhere to be found. She squeezed her eyes shut as a fresh wave of tears appeared, and she collapsed back onto the bench, crying softly to herself, wanting only to be with Alex, to be in his arms. "Why..." she whispered into the dark silence, "Why did you have to leave me?"

 _I have never left you..._

The voice was almost too faint to be heard and it reached her over the mutual mind bank, echoing from the dark and long-abandoned corners of the corridor he once occupied in the collective, telepathic chat room.

 _I will always be there for you...I love you, my little gemstone..._

And once more, the world fell into a heavy, depressing silence. Ruby curled into as small a ball as she could muster, gently rocking herself. Sobs wracked her body, but no more tears came. His absence weighed heavily on her, filling her with a nearly overwhelming since of loneliness and despair. Never before could she recall ever feeling so alone, helpless, and forgotten as she had then. Even during her containment, she could sense her future mate, faint, but there, always at the edges of her senses, just out of reach. Now, she could only feel the endless emptiness. A huge part of not just her heart, but her very soul had been ripped from her body. Despair thick in her mental voice, she cried out into the empty recesses he once occupied, crying out his name, begging for his response, but nothing more reached her.

 _We will see each other again, I promise you...and when we do, I will never leave your side again. We will be with each other until the end of time..._

As Alpha Company stepped off of their Hornet into a small, private airport, Bleu contacted them over the radio, "Okay, so Panama City Beach has changed a bit since the Second Civil War occurred. Don't trust any maps you may already have. Practically _nothing_ in the southern U.S is mapped out exactly how it was before the war."

"What are we doing here again?" Jazz asked over the radio.

"We have reason to believe the Reapers will try and attack the place. Considering this is a massive hot spot come Spring Break...well...what better place for the genocidal Reapers to claim a lot of lives than there with a bunch of stupid, drunk college kids who are too drunk, horny, and stoned to fight back."

"Shouldn't we be on standby in case they actually _do_ show up?" the rabbit asked bitterly.

"I think this is their way of giving us a bit of a break..." Rapid began, "We've been in nonstop action since that whole thing in Chicago."

"Great," Jazz continued, "Just what I need, some downtime to go over shit that's happened recently. At least with the action, there's other things to preoccupy my mind that shit I've done and shit that's happened so recently..." and he sighed, "'Sides, Dash and I have had enough of a break I think after all the time we spent as military police."

"Normally, I'd enjoy the break," Dash replied, "But this time, I kinda agree with Jazz here."

"Well, _you_ two might," Cynder began, "Don't think many others will agree, though," and she turned to face Ruby, wearing an expressionless, distant gaze, falling behind the rest of the group, "You okay, girl?"

"Huh?" and the dolphin broke from her trance, looking up at the group with an expression as if she had been caught doing something wrong.

"Everything okay, Rubes?" Dash asked, "You look worried about somethin'."

She shook her head, "I'm...fine...or I will be..."

"Thinking of your mate?" Sapphire asked her.

Ruby slowly nodded, "I just...I wish Alex was here..."

"We all do," Cynder said, trying to comfort her.

"Just...leave me be..." she said in an almost pleading voice, "Please...just..." and she shook her head, "Forget me..."

Alpha Company briefly exchanged worried glances before continuing onward.

Upon reaching the beach, Alpha Company, all adopting human forms, checked into the nearby resort, which had been set up for them. After getting themselves comfortable in their rooms, they all made their way to one of the many bars, already bustling with college students who had arrived early. "Y'know," Cynder began, sitting next to Dash, who had taken her seat at the bar, waiting on a drink, "I'm kinda worried about Ruby."

"You and me both, sis..." then, "Should we place her on suicide watch?"

"You think she'd _do_ such a thing?"

Dash reluctantly nodded, "Unfortunately, I do. She's...yeah..."

Cynder sighed, "Hell I don't know...I'll have to go over with Spyro on that. Though if Ruby goes on suicide watch, I'm gonna push to put Piermont on there, too. He hasn't been himself since Alex died."

"I'm surprised he's still alive, to be honest," Dash chuckled grimly, "I thought bonded dragons of riders suicided or berserked when their riders were slain?"

"That's the trend, but..." and she glanced over at Piermont, sitting by himself, statuesque and quiet, wearing a dazed expression, "Well...Pierre's broken the mold on more than one trope of the whole dragon/rider bond."

"How are _you_ taking Alex's passing?" Dash asked the she-dragon, "You two were a thing, too..."

Cynder shrugged, "It hurts...but Spyro's helped me a lot through this..."

"Well that's good to hear."

"What about you? You were his mate, too."

Dash shrugged, "Things kinda fell out between us after Ruby came into the picture. Besides, I'm a helluva lot tougher than a lot of guys here. Yeah, I miss him, yeah it hurts that he's gone but..." and she sighed, "I admit, I cried a lot after his passing...but I kinda got through it...eventually. Least he's better off than he was. He don't have to put up with the Reapers, and he doesn't have to worry about being put through hell with 'em anymore. He's in a better place."

"Unless he ended up in the Devil's Arena again," Cynder sighed.

"The what now?"

"Long story," the dragoness replied, "Will have to tell you later..." then, "Well, if he _is_ in the Devil's Arena again, wouldn't doubt Terrias is there with him...they can go through that together, again."

"Always better to go though hell with friends than alone, I'd say."

"Agreed."

"I do miss Alex...but...ya know...death is one of the risks of being a soldier. Eventually our luck was bound to run out. We're _all_ living on borrowed time, Alex has been luckier than all of us, his luck was bound to run out, and I ain't surprised in the slightest that his time ran out first...though my main worry right now is Ruby...I don't like what's going on."

"All of this has been unspeakably hard on the poor girl, I feel so bad for her."

"You and me both, Cyn. She's fragile enough as it is, that's mainly why I'm worried she'll be suicidal. The only thing that has kept her alive _this_ long through all of the trauma plaguing her life has been Alex. Now he's gone, there's nothing left tethering her to the world, 'cept maybe Sapphire, and I doubt he's a very comforting individual to have during a time like this."

"Well, he's really softened up a lot since he joined, both towards Ruby _and_ Alex. He's finally starting to accept all the changes between them and the shock of the amount of time that's passed without his knowledge. Plus, he still loves Ruby, even if he won't admit it, I'd imagine he's pretty quick on the rebound, once she has proper time to grieve that is."

"Sure he won't just rape her again?" and Dash chuckled, "Since we know he lets his lust take control."

"That was a one time occurrence that he seems to genuinely feel bad about, so I'm gonna assume that he's much better now. Hell, he even took to Alex, which I wasn't expecting, to be honest."

"Yeah...given dolphins' notorious rep, I have to wonder _how_ close they really got."

Cynder laughed, "Well...I wouldn't put it above either _one_ of them to do that. I mean, Alex jacked Piermont off when they were younger, apparently without anyone knowing, I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if he and Sapphire mated, or at least Alex got _him_ off, too."

"So, anyway, what should we do about Ruby?"

Cynder shrugged, "I don't know, give her some space but keep a close eye on her, if you really think she'd be willing to do such a thing."

"Which, unfortunately, I do. I know her a little bit too well...I also think we should really keep Pierre under close observation, too. I don't know what he's thinking, he's locked everyone out of his mind, and he's acting so out of character that I have no idea _what_ 's going on in there. Reverend even said that Pierre openly threatened him, and in a _very_ macabre, sinister manner as well. Much worse than just his usual bullshit, like he does with Spyro. Which makes me wonder just how sane, or lack thereof, Pierre has become since Alex left."

"I do agree on _that_ one...and yeah, Rapid told me that, too. Although Piermont's mind has been locked out since Alex fell, I _did_ manage to slip in a few times while he was sleeping..." and Cynder shook her head, "Dash...the things going through his head...he is _literally_ barely holding onto his sanity by a thread. All he needs is the proper catalyst and he's gone, end of story. I'm astounded he hasn't broken yet, he's one tough son of a bitch."

"I'm sure there's a lot about him we don't know...I just recently, within the past year or so, found out that most of his personality is a fraud and a facade."

"Agree, and same here...just honestly didn't expect him to be _this_ tough."

"Well...ya know, he's been around since the dawn of the Terminator Militia, he was one of the first recruits to Alpha Company, _and_ he's the bonded dragon of Alex, so I'm also not surprised he's so tough. He's tougher than a lot of people here, even if it doesn't seem like it. He never shows us his true colors, so it's hard to tell _just_ how tough he really is."

"Fair point."

Ruby walked down the beach, trying to keep at the very edge of the already thick crowds, wanting to deal with as few people as she could. Their hotel happened to be right on the oceanside, and to get to their rooms they had to navigate the chaotic beach. As she walked through the warm afternoon, she heard an all-too-familiar sound, the squeak and cry of one of her own, a bottlenose dolphin...in pain. She shoved through the crowd, ignoring the threats, swears, and protests of the collegians as she searched for the source of the sound. Finally, she reached the water, and her jaw dropped, her heart sinking, at the sight of what she saw. Four drunken women had pulled a dolphin out from the sea and were torturing it on the beach, with one of them sitting upon it while the creature flailed upon the sands, squeaking in pain. She cackled wild laughter, pretending to ride it, and Ruby watched in horror as one of her friends handed her a bright pink dildo, which she was forcing into the dolphin's blowhole, brushing aside her bikini to stick the other end inside of her.

"HEY!" Ruby called in alarm, her paralysis breaking as she rushed towards them, "What are you doing to him!?"

Horrified, the women, ignoring her, then all took turns squatting on the creature, urinating upon it while the first women continued to masturbate against the double-ended sex toy.

"STOP!" she roared, fury taking over as she shoved aside the group of women and tackled the masturbating one, knocking her off the creature.

"Ruby?" Piermont asked, shoving his way through the crowd. Upon watching the furious women pounce upon and attack the human-form Ruby, punching the woman she sat upon relentlessly, blindly, the human-form dragon, anger welling deep within his body, charged in to help her. "Leave her alone you worthless sons of bitches!"

The woman she had attacked crying uncontrollably, Ruby, out of breath, scampered off of her, gently removing the object from the bull dolphin's blowhole as she helped the creature back into the water, hurriedly swimming away. While she watched the creature disappear, the women appeared behind her, smashing empty beer bottles against their cooler laying on the beach, once more tackling the human-form dolphin to the ground and taking turns beating her with whatever they could find lying around.

"Oi!" Piermont roared, appearing behind them, and he effortlessly grabbed one of the women by the throat, lifting her and dangling her above his head, two feet in the air, wearing a twisted, homicidal snarl.

"Help me!" the woman cried, flailing, "He's raping me!"

Piermont chuckled darkly, "I would never stick my cock into something as diseased and depraved as you..." and he threw her at least fifty feet out into the ocean, booming an inhuman, maddened growl as he beat the remaining women senseless. Ruby, recovering from her assault, joined him, and soon, all the women were bloodied and beat into unconsciousness, passed out on the beach. No one else around them paid any attention to what had occurred, and they remained ignored to the oblivious collegians, too wrapped up in themselves to worry about or even notice the assault that had just occurred. Piermont extended a hand, helping Ruby, who had collapsed to the ground, into a standing position. He placed a hand around her head, his distant and emotionless eyes locking onto her horrified blue ones, and he asked, "Are you all right?"

Ruby nodded before losing control of herself and collapsing into his arms, burying her head into his chest and sobbing, "I'm sorry..." she managed, "I...I don't know what came over me..."

"Come," he began, "Let's get you back to the hotel..." and he turned on his heels, tossing an arm around her and helping her through the crowd. Finally, people started to turn their attentions toward the duo, but a single, homicidal, menacing glare from Piermont's eerie, unnatural emerald eyes sent them clumsily falling back out of his way.

Once back at the hotel, Ruby writhed free from his grasp, cautiously taking horrified steps towards her bed before collapsing at its foot, staring forward towards the ground, a horrified expression frozen on her face. She was trembling, her breath rapid and short, and she looked up to face Piermont, who had closed the door and was now leaning against it, arms crossed, staring her down.

Ruby shook her head, "I...I don't know what happened...I just...I lost control and I...I...I..."

Piermont's pallid, skeletal face twisted into a grim, insane smile, "You gave them what they disturbed. You saw one of your kin being harmed by them, and you leaped into action..." and he chuckled darkly, "Ah, if only I had the nerve to do that to someone of my own kind..." then, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, "Yes, I'm just...scared."

He sat down beside her, throwing an arm around her and pulling her close, half-hugging her, "I am here for you."

She nodded again, "Thank you, Piermont..."

He said nothing, only stood up and, casting a final look towards the dolphin, now once more in her natural form, turned to leave. He paused at the door, one hand around the knob, "If you need anything, and I mean _anything_...let me know, regardless of time of day or the nature of the favor..." and he finally left the room, leaving her alone. Ruby fell back onto the bed, crawling to its head and laying on her side, curling around one of the pillows, nuzzling it affectionately, wrapping herself around like she would if it were Alex. As her lower body brushed against it, an intense fire surged through her body, followed by a deep ache in her loins. She quickly rubbed off against it, fantasizing an encounter with Alex before she finally drifted off, her sleep, dreaming of what had just occurred on the beach, soon dissolving into a shocking dream of a sexual encounter brought to her by Piermont.

"Yo!" Dash called, running up to Piermont, who was walking across the plaza, heading to the bar, "What happened?"

Piermont paused in his brisk walk, rotating to face her before walking towards her. Cynder ran to catch up to them.

"We heard that there was a big fight on the beach, they had to call the ambulances...what happened?"

Piermont shrugged, "Likely some stupid children getting into a fight over one thing or another."

"Have you seen Ruby?" Dash asked.

The human-form dragon nodded, "She's in her room, resting, I _strongly_ suggest leaving her be," and without another word, despite the protests of his companions, Piermont stormed off. Cynder and Dash exchanged awkward glances before turning to face the direction of their hotel.

"Well..." Cynder began, "What do we do?"

Dash shrugged, "Sure there's somethin' going on in this hellhole."

Cynder then frowned, "I want to go home..."

"Me, too, Cyn..." Dash sighed, "Me, too."

Spyro was back in his and Cynder's room, sitting back on the bed, playing online multiplayer on a video game with Jazz. The rest of Alpha Company sat around the room, eating freshly-delivered pizza and chatting among themselves.

"All this crap going on," Dash began with a grin, "And you're all cooped up in here."

"In case you didn't notice, Dash," Jazz began, "Alpha's never been one to go out and mingle with the idiot commoners. I'm _still_ trying to figure out _why_ Fox sent us to this damned place. He knows how much it pisses us off to be around morons."

"My money is to help us take our minds off of recent events, between Alex's...passing...and Elliot's health," Cynder replied, grabbing a slice of pizza.

"Yeah? But you wanna know what works just as well if not better?"

"What?" Dash asked.

"Finding and fighting the _fucking_ Reapers, which we _should_ be doing right now!"

"I second that," Aria snorted, cleaning her AK47.

"I third..." Sapphire frowned, "Alex still remains unavenged, and these devils still terrorize the world. The longer we procrastinate, the more innocents die."

"Man, why the hell you care so much about Alex?" Spyro asked, mouth contorting into a snarl as he struggled to survive against the onslaught of enemy players, "Yo, Jazz, you mind covering my ass, they keep gaining up on me here."

"Then stop camping..." Jazz growled.

"He's a friend," Sapphire sighed, "And a good one at that..."

"Uh huh... _just_ a friend," and Spyro chuckled, turning away from the game, where he had died and was awaiting a respawn, to face the bull dolphin, "You sure care a lot about someone you supposedly _hate_. Now you're calling him a friend?"

"He's a dolphin," Simba chuckled, "All Alex had to do was give him a good tugging and they're besties...which we all know Alex would surely do."

Sapphire sighed, shaking his head.

"Is true or not?"

"Can we not talk ill about the dead," Aria scowled, "You're acting like a bunch of immature children. Grow up already."

"What?" Simba asked, "All I said is that Alex probably gave him a date with rosie palms, or might even have mated him, you _really_ gonna argue that, Aria?"

"It's irrelevant and immature."

"Why would it matter if he did?" Sapphire sighed.

"I hear no denial..." and Simba chuckled.

"SHUT UP!" Aria roared, "Just...SHUT UP. Change the _FUCKING_ subject, all right!?"

"Jeez..." Spyro mumbled, "What bee got in _her_ bonnet..." and Cynder shrugged in response.

Ruby, in her human form, sat by herself at the far end of the beach, away from the crowd, looking into the rolling waves, her mind blank. Memory of Alex's fall continued to haunt her dreams, and she was quickly becoming terrified of sleep. She felt empty, displaced, a metaphorical fish out of water. Never before had she felt so alone or empty than she had since Alex's fall. She lamented ever meeting him in the first placing, wishing that she could go back in time and undo everything, undo her meeting with the Commander, wishing that she would have lived out her life, however short it would have been, at the old aquarium, rather than ending up where she was now. She felt as if she served no more purpose in the world, she felt unwanted and isolated. The waves called out to her, taunting her in a pathetic imitation of Alex's voice, _It is easy to surrender...let us ease your pain..._

She stood up, walking forward, as if in a trance, into the water, and once it was up to her breast, she stopped, staring into the dark, freezing water.

 _Do it...a moment of pain, following by sweet bliss._

She smiled sadly.

 _Alex is waiting for you...won't you join him?_

She dove into the water, feeling it rushing into her eyes, stinging them.

 _One breath...one brief moment of pain...like a pinprick of a needle. Then, it'll be all over, you and Alex will be together again, and nothing more will separate you two._

 _Alex..._ she thought out, her heart pounding. Was she really going to do this? How much was it going to hurt?

 _It won't hurt very long, I promise._

 _I'm...afraid of the dark..._

 _Alex is here...and he is waiting. Do it for him?_

She felt her breath running low, if she didn't surface to grab another one, she was going to drown regardless. It was now or never. If she chose against it, she would likely be too afraid to try again. Finally, unable to hold it any longer, she involuntarily tried to inhale. Instantly, water rushed into her lungs, burning with a painful sting. She began to panic, crying out as she tried to find a way back up. Because she had calmed herself in her trance, she had collapsed to the floor of the bank, and in he darkness, she couldn't tell which way was up.

 _Coward!_ The voice inside of her taunted in an eerie, malicious voice, _You are a coward!_

Finally, her hand breached the surface, and she could feel wind rushing between her fingers. She moved in the direction of her arm, and once her head breached the waves, fresh, cold, salty air rushed into her burning lungs. She stumbled back to the beach, coughing violently, her body burning painfully. Once her bare feet stepped into sand, she collapsed forward, choking and coughing up water. Finally, the coughing receded and she collapsed onto the sand, sobbing quietly, rolling onto her back. She had worn an oversized white shirt, one of Alex's old ones, as her human form was much shorter than the Commander's, and her body was much smaller as well. It, now soaked, was now pressed firmly against her body, her b-cup breasts standing out, her erect nipples poking through the cloth. She curled into fetal position, horrified at what she had just tried to do. Angry at herself for stooping down to such a low action.

"What have I done...?" she began in a tiny, broken voice, "What am I doing? Alex would never...he would never want this to happen to me...what did I do wrong? Why does the world hate me? Why does God hate me? I'm not Vitam anymore...I'm Ruby...I'm just a stupid fish...why do I have to suffer for something I did a long, long time ago? I just want..." and she sniffled, "I just want Alex back...I just want to be with Alex...Why won't this end? Why must I continue to be hurt...please...just make it stop..." and she began to rock herself on the sand, humming a lullaby she could recall hearing from her mother's trainer she had in the aquarium back when she was still a calf, before the _Caeda_ kidnapped her. She hummed the lullaby, trying to clear her mind of the dark thoughts tormenting it, trying to return to the state of ignorant bliss she had felt before her mutation, when she was still a sickly, dying dolphin calf, only a few months left to live. When this didn't work, she recalled the time when Alex had pleasured her, a rich and well-recalled memory in her mind that normally soothed her during her containment. However, this only brought back painful memories, such as when she was a calf, before she, her mother, and Sapphire had been transferred, back when her mother's trainer at _that_ aquarium had tried to rape her and she had resisted, becoming injured in the process...an injury to her left eye that had blinded her, which Alex had healed. "Please...make it go away...I don't want to hurt anymore...I just want peace...I just want to be happy..."

"Hey! Lady! You okay?"

Ruby, still in fetal position, turned to face the voice who had called out to her. A young man, about early twenties, with messy brown hair, brown eyes, and a deep tan, wearing only a pair of black swimming trunks, jogged up to her. In the crook of his arm, he carried a stained volleyball. "Leave me be..." Ruby managed, in a voice too small to be heard.

"Everything okay? Do you need help?" and he stopped before her, extending a hand.

Reluctantly, Ruby took it, and he helped her up. He wore a worried expression, cocking his head to the side, "Is everything okay?"

She hesitated for a few moments before nodding slightly, managing a weak smile, "Yes...I'm fine..."

"What happened?"

"I just..." and her smile dissolved as her eyes began to shine with tears again, "I lost someone very special to me recently...it still hurts."

"Family?"

She shook her head, "My..." and she stopped herself from saying 'mate'. Her mind ran rapidly through her internal dictionary, trying to find a word that she could use as a substitute, eventually saying, "My _fiance_..." and she felt a certain warmth shoot throughout her body, centering around her loins, "He passed away last year."

"I'm sorry to hear that..." then, "You play volleyball? We can use another player if you'd like to join us."

"Yo! John!" a big black man began, calling from across the beach, "You done, man?"

"Hold on a moment Del," and he turned to face her again, smiling widely, "What do you say?"

Ruby smiled in return, nodding sheepishly, "I think that sounds nice..."

"Awesome!" and he laughed, "Let's go."

After the game ended, John and his friends headed together to the bar down the beach, near the hotel where Ruby was staying with Alpha Company. They talked about various goings-on in their lives, and although the human-form dolphin chose to remain silent through this whole ordeal, she appreciated the company, feeling, somehow, accepted. John's friends seemed to take a liking to hear, as she could seem them casting amused glances towards her direction all throughout the game, whispering things to themselves or the boy, John, himself, who only grew a wide, toothy grin from ear-to-ear at whatever was said.

"Drink's on me," he said, pulling out a chair for Ruby to sit, "What would you like?"

She shook her head, "I'm fine."

"Would you like something to eat?"

She shook her head, "No, I'm okay."

"You sure?"

She nodded, "Positive."

"All right, suit yourself, and they waited patiently for their waitress, the black man, Del, asking, "So, what's your name?"

"Ruby," she replied, "Ruby..." and she paused for a few moments, thinking of a last name before adding "Vaughn."

"Where you from?"

"Um...Tallahassee..." she said, recalling the location of the aquarium she had been at before her capture.

"That's cool," he replied, "Name's Del Thompson, from the Manhattan...this here's my friend..."

John chuckled, "I can introduce myself. Name's John Walker, from Brooklyn, what brings a pretty girl like yourself all the way down here to this cesspool of sex, drugs, and rock n' roll. You don't look like the partying type."

Ruby shrugged, "I'm here with some friends, we're on vacation to get away from...recent events. Life's been a little rough for us lately, so they figured we could come down here, get a chance to relax and unwind."

He nodded, "That's good to hear..." and for an hour they talked about random things, getting to know each other. When at last it was time to head in for the night, John offered to walk Ruby home, she accepted, and he escorted her back to her room, saying goodnight before turning to leave.

"Hey...wait..." Ruby called after him, and he turned on his heels.

"Everything okay, Ruby?"

She nodded, "Won't you stay for a little while at least? Help me keep my mind at bay," and indeed, with someone to talk to, it helped chase away her dark train of thoughts.

"Sure, why the hell not," he replied, "Ain't going anywhere soon," and she let them both into the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Nice place..." he replied with a whistle, looking around, "Shit, you got it better than the rest of us do."

"We spared no expense..." Ruby replied, blushing, as nervous as a schoolgirl.

He stopped in front of the couch, "Mind if I sit?"

She nodded, and he took a seat, asking, "So...how long you staying here?"

"Not sure," she replied, "We weren't really given a specific length...Fox told us to stay as long as we needed to."

"Fox?"

"Yes..." Ruby replied, nervous, forgetting she was trying to remain anonymous, "My friend...the one who organized this trip for us."

"You sharing the room with anyone?"

She shook her head, "No...they thought I needed the privacy, to deal with Alex's death..."

"Alex?"

"My..." and she struggled to recall the word, " _Fiance..._ "

"I see..." then John asked, "So...what was he like? If you don't mind me asking."

"He was very nice, very friendly..." Ruby replied, "He didn't trust many people but for us..." and she smiled warmly, "Something clicked...he always took care of me, made sure I was happy, and he loved me...I miss him..."

"If you wouldn't mind me prying, how did he pass?"

"He was killed...by the Reapers," the words had come out of her mouth before she had a chance to catch herself, and although terrified, she turned to face her companion, who only nodded.

"Yeah...the whole world is freaking out because they're going around killing people...there's a lotta different motives behind this little vacation than usual. People who didn't decide to just pretend they didn't exist came here to get away from it...the intention was to stay inside...but as I'm sure you can see, they seemed to have forgotten all about it already."

Ruby sat across from him, lost in thought, hands tucked in her lap, sitting stiff and erect on the edge of the couch.

"Listen...I'm sorry about Alex."

She shrugged, "Not like it can be helped. As he would say: Sex, Birth, Death...the circle of life."

An awkward silence fell before them before he asked, "So...would you mind if I take you somewhere nice tomorrow night. A lot better than the cheap fast food they serve down on the beach."

Ruby smiled, "That sounds fun..." and she fell silent, her heart racing. She didn't know why, but he reminded her of Alex in the way he looked at her, a certain light in his eyes. She felt that heat surge through her body again, then asked, with a light laugh, "So...would you mind spending the night? It gets a little lonely sometimes."

He grinned widely, asking, "Where could I?"

"With me," Ruby replied, smiling sheepishly, blushing. He sat down beside her, kissing her. She stiffened at first, but soon relaxed before laying down on the couch, pulling him down on top of her. They quickly undressed each other before Ruby, smiling towards him, asked, "Go easy, please...it's been awhile..."

"Here?"

She nodded, "That would be nice..."

The next morning, Ruby was awakened by knocking on her apartment door. She slowly opened her eyes, and after seeing the boy laying next to her, briefly had a panic attack, terrified, wondering what was happening. Just then, memory of the previous night flashed through her eyes, and she felt sick realizing that she had slept with him, a complete stranger. She felt like she had betrayed Alex's trust in the process, but when he awoke to the knocking as well, sleepily turning to face Ruby, wearing a dumbfounded look at first before smiling as he remembered, he kissed her again. Ruby flinched back, and he broke off instantly, turning to face her with a confused glance. "I...I'm sorry..." Ruby replied, out of breath, "I...I need to go..." and she scurried out of breath, running to the door.

She opened it to find a shocked, natural-form Dash and Cynder standing in the door. Both scrutinizing with puzzled, embarrassed smiles. Ruby felt her heart sink as she observed herself...she was completely nude, and she remembered that she had completely undressed before she and her partner had moved their antics to the bedroom. Her pallid face drained of what little blood remained, and she smiled sheepishly, "Sorry I'm...uh..." and she pulled back in, slamming the door shut on their faces.

"Hey!" Dash protested, rubbing her injured muzzle in the process, "What gives?"

Ruby quickly rushed back into her room, where John had dressed himself, querying as to what was wrong. She silenced him, dressing herself as she ran back to the door, opening it again, out of breath.

"Everything okay, Rubes?" Dash asked.

"Fine, fine..." she laughed nervously.

"Are you feeling okay?" Cynder asked, suspicious.

"Fine, fine, I'm feeling..." and Cynder, expression becoming one of knowing irritation, shoved the door open, pushing Ruby aside as she trotted into the suite, Dash along behind her.

"NO!" Ruby exclaimed, covering her mouth with her hands, "Oh God...please God, no!"

Taking on their human forms, Cynder asked, "What's wrong with you, Ruby? You act like you're doing something you're not supposed to..." and she opened the door to Ruby's room, stopping as she stood in the doorway.

Ruby, face flushed red with embarrassment, collapsed on the sofa she had begun the previous night's antics with John upon, planting her face in her palms. When she looked up, both Dash and Cynder were staring at her with glances foretelling their lack of amusement, and Cynder, forcing John out of the room, who stumbled out of the door and fell to the floor, turned to face the human-form dolphin, "Ruby...who's this?"

Dash grinned, "Seems like our depressed widow had herself a taste of fresh meat last night...God damn, Ruby, youare the _last_ person I'd expect to go for a little one night fling."

Ruby sighed, frowning, "I was...aroused...okay? It's been a long time since I had a mate, since Sapphire refuses to out of respect for Alex...I met him, he reminded me of Alex...so I brought him back and..."

"You fucked him...good going..." Cynder finished, and Dash broke out into wild laughter.

"Please...don't tell anyone about this!" Ruby pleaded, " _Especially_ not Piermont or Sapphire!"

"You're secret's safe with me...I guess..." Cynder sighed, shaking her head, "I'm...eh...well...you come meet us at the bar once you've taken care of...whatever it is you started here..." and she left the room, Dash, struggling not to laugh, in tow.

Once the door had slammed shut behind them, Ruby turned to face John with a weak smile, "They're...my friends..." and she laughed nervously, "I'm...uh...yeah..."

John chuckled back, "Well, I know how that is...always awkward when that happens," and he walked up to her, waiting for a few seconds to make sure it was all right with her before he kissed her briefly, "Thanks for that, last night...honestly, I can say that's some of the best I've ever had...thanks."

She shyly nodded, "Indeed it was...you...definitely pushed the right buttons..."

And he winked at her, whispering, "You tasted good, too..." Ruby nervously looked down towards her crotch and blushed, embarrassed, subconsciously placing a protective hand over it, "Anyway...I'm going to head back to my room, get cleaned up, check in with my roomies...I won't tell them about this if you don't want me, too."

"I hope it won't be the last time I see you in here..."

"Not the one night stand type?" and he chuckled, whispering to her, "Don't tell the others, but...eh...neither am I," and he finally left, leaving Ruby standing, alone, awkwardly in the center of the main room.

Later that day, Ruby and her comrades were invited by John and his friends for another game of volleyball, which she eagerly joined. This time, the teams were divided so that it was John's friends against the vacationing Alpha Company, with Ruby, a human-form Simba, Rudolph, and Rapid, both _also_ in their human forms balancing out the teams on John's side. When the sun began to sink in the west, they were still playing a game, and that's when they heard it.

A distant, but deafening, mechanical trumpet in the distance. The first time went largely unheard and ignored by the crowd, including Alpha Company. The second time it sounded, however, Alpha Company was instantly on alert, pausing and listening intently through the chaos, hoping that they didn't hear what they thought they just did. "Shit!" Piermont roared upon the third trumpet, and Alpha scattered, fleeing back to their rooms to call in support.

"Wait! Wait!" John called, running after Ruby, "Where you going?"

"Get out of here! It's dangerous!" Ruby called back, but he continued following her. She raced into her room, digging around her nightstand for her earpiece, John barreling in beside her.

"What's happened?"

"We're under attack!" she cried.

"What? By who?"

"The Reapers!" and she sped back out of the room onto the beach, John right on her heels, calling for an explanation. As Ruby emerged onto the sand of the beach, her heart sank and her eyes widened as dozens of transport-like ships emerged from slipspace, lowering onto the sands and dropping Husks, scattering the terrified collegians and causing them to stampede in every direction, "Oh no!" Ruby exclaimed, out of breath, her voice but a hoarse whisper.

"RUBY!" Jazz, in his natural form, roared, hopping up to her, "Hope you're ready to fight! Bleu wants us to hold down the fort until Beta Company and reinforcements can get here!"

"But..."

However, he had already sped off to engage the infected humans on the beach. John, still standing behind the paralyzed Ruby, asked, "What's going on? Who was that?"

She sighed, saying, "I'm not who you think I am..." and she added, "I'm a soldier...we were sent here both for a vacation and to keep an eye out for the Reapers..."

"Let me help you," and he grabbed her arm affectionately, "Please, regardless, I still love you."

She frowned, tearing free of his grasp, "No you won't..."

"What do you mean? Of course I do!"

She took this opportunity to take on her natural form, turning to face the stunned boy, with a sad expression, "No...you won't."

He remained firm, taking a solid, motivated expression, "I beg to differ..." then he added, "So...you must be Alpha Company then...of the Terminator Militia? Unless there are other walking human slash animals walking around."

"Yes..."

"So Alex must be Alex Vaughn then, right? The news said he fell to his death back in June."

"Yes..."

"Let me help you."

"Why?"

"Because I love you, I don't care if you're a dolphin. Obviously if someone like Mister Vaughn can get away with loving and screwing a dolphin, pretty sure I'm just as able...I love you."

Ruby smiled sadly, "Goodbye...you saved me and eased my nightmares...at least for now, and for that, I thank you..." and she raced off to join the fight, leaving the unhappy boy behind.

"If the Reapers are here, five bucks Ares and Thanatos are around somewhere!" Rapid exclaimed, "Damn it all! We need to do _something_!"

"Got a plan, Reverend?" Jazz spat, gunning down a group of Husks charging towards them, "Until reinforcements get here, all we _can_ do is kill everything those goddamn things drop!"

"I'm more worried about Ares and Thanatos appearing!"

"Who _cares_ about those two faggots! If we haven't seen 'em yet, they ain't here!" Jazz roared, " _I'm_ more worried about the fact that those _fucking_ squids are here! They're a _much_ bigger threat than two indoctrinated sons of bitches! We've taken _plenty_ of Indoctrinated down, we haven't got much casualties of those damn squid themselves!"

Ruby froze, horrified, as she watched around her. The actual machines themselves had arrived to join the fight, and they were making swift work of the terrified party goers. She turned around to face where John had been, only to find that he was no longer there...she could only hope that he got away before the Reapers could get to him. She had enough on her conscience with Alex gone, she didn't need the weight of a friend she had sent to his death bearing down on her shoulders, especially someone who genuinely seemed to care about her in a way not unlike Alex had.

"RUBY!" Jazz roared, "SNAP OUT OF IT! Goddammit!" and he shoved her aside, "Either fight or get the hell out! You stand there looking like a fuckin' moron and you're dead before you know it, you hear me? Now either FIGHT or hide till evac arrives!" and he rejoined the fight.

Ruby, with renewed vigor, closed her eyes in a half-meditative state, still aware of the dangers of her surroundings so she could avoid if necessary. She summoned the ocean to aide her, and utilizing her powerful hydrokinesis, she swept aside the charging Husks, defending her comrades by summoning watery tentacles out of the water to impale and rip apart the abominations.

It didn't take long for the Reapers' attention to change from the civilians to their assailants, and Alpha Company danced a very deadly tango with the machines, bringing their forces down however they could while simultaneously dodging the charges from the Husks, the weapons of the Indoctrinated, and the beams of the three present machines themselves. Eventually, powerful roars broke the monotony of the Reapers' mechanical trumpets, the mechanical growls and roars of the Husks, and the digital, incomprehensible muttering and mumbling of the Indoctrinated, either following or giving orders. At least neither Ares or Thanatos had arrived on scene. All eyes were on the sky as hundreds of Martaanean dragons emerged from teleportation spheres, taking on the machines directly.

"'Bout time the Calvary shows up on time," Spyro replied, "I was getting worried there for a second."

"Oi!" Jacob Carter, commander of Beta Company, called to them, landing his dragon before them, "Get to a safe place to extract, we got this."

"You sure?" Spyro asked.

"Rog, Alpha's resources can be used elsewhere, where they are more effective, no offense."

"None taken," Cynder replied, and they headed out, beginning the run back to the airport, where their Hornet was waiting.

Thankfully, most of the Reaper forces were still distracted by the dragons and riders of Beta Company on the beach, and while they _did_ encounter a number of shock troops in the city proper, there wasn't _too_ much of a threat, and the local National Guard was taking care of them, aiding the evacuation of the civilians. Ruby only hoped that John had managed to reach one of the groups before he was cornered by the enemy forces.

Eventually, they reached the airport, finding that the National Guard were holding the landing strip, having delayed all in and outbound flights, and while they ensured no Reaper forces penetrated the line, civilians were being led off the plane and into the hangars. They also found their pilot, already warming up the Hornet. "Yo!" Piermont roared, running across the tarmac, "We ready to go?"

"As soon as you get your asses in here," he called back, climbing into the cockpit.

Alpha Company piled into the machine, and just as it took to the skies, a _fourth_ Reaper arrived on scene to intercept then, charging its cannon in their direction.

"Oh _HELL_!" their pilot exclaimed, sharply maneuvering the vehicle around to avoid the imminent attack. Before the machine had a chance to fire, however, a rider upon a Desert Dweller appeared, spewing white fire down on the machine, not hot enough to damage, not even hot enough to tear through its shields even partially, but enough to distract it and allow Alpha's Hornet an opening to escape. The Hornet flew around the machine's hull, rocketing forward as fast as it could go.

"Gotta go fast..." Sapphire remarked coldly, and Dash cast him a grin.

Within moments, the world outside flashed into the teleportation vortex. When the Hornet emerged above the southern Burned Lands, its occupants were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief at the respite and safety, however brief it may be. Ruby kept her head pressed against one of the machines small, circular windows, gazing absentmindedly down at the charred wasteland below, lost in thought. She didn't know if John had managed to escape, she only hoped that he had, and she sighed, a slight, sad whistle in her tone.

The others inside the machine noticed her melancholy but maintained their silence, with only Dash and Cynder _really_ knowing what was on her mind, the others assuming it was Alex. Dash moved to say something, but one look towards Cynder, and the Pegasus saw the she-dragon shaking her head disapprovingly. She stood down, worried for her friend, but complying to Cynder's unspoken suggestion.

"I'm ready for this shit to end already," Piermont replied in a menacing, malicious voice.

"Aren't we all?" Rapid replied, but the others in the Hornet merely nodded in agreement.


	8. Chapter VII: Rudolph:Shadows of the Past

_**Chapter VII**_ **:**

 **-''Rudolph: Shadows of the Past''-**

 **-New Alexandria, Montana-**

 **- _27 March 2015_ -**

 **- _2318 Hours_ -**

"Hey, Sapphire?" the bull suddenly awoke from his sleep, eyes shooting up to find Ruby standing at the edge of the pool, wearing a puzzled glance.

"Oh, Ruby..." he shook his head, "It's just you," and he dove beneath the waves, swimming up to the edge and surfacing closer to Ruby, "What can I help you with?"

"I have a question," she replied, "Do you promise you won't be mad at me?"

He adopted a suspicious expression, "What's the question?"

"Promise me."

"Fine," he sighed, "I promise, what's the question?"

"Well..." and she sat looked away, blushing, "I was thinking about...some things, and I remember something that Piermont used to joke about..."

He cocked his head to the side, "What's the question?"

"Did you and Alex ever actually mate?"

He fell silent, frowning and snorting, "Would it make a difference if we did?"

"I'm just curious...you and Alex did grow upon one another towards the end there, and I remember how the other males in our pod reacted to their friends, and how they bonded."

"Maybe we did, maybe we didn't, hmm? It's not important either way. You needn't concern yourself."

"I'm curious...that's all."

He sighed, "Come here."

She dove into the pool, surfacing beside him. Closing his eyes, he placed his forehead against hers, and she closed her eyes as he shared her memories with her. She shuddered briefly, but after a minute or two, they separated, and he smiled sadly at her, "Does that answer your question?"

She nodded slowly, sighing, "I miss him, Sapphire."

"Admittedly, as do I, Ruby. He was a good friend."

"Yes, he was...and a good mate."

He slowly nodded in response, "He loved you. I don't know why I didn't believe you at first...maybe it was my own arrogance, my own narcissism and jealousy that he got to you first, because I had always wanted you as well, I was just too afraid of hurting you to do anything."

Ruby smiled sadly, "Well, we have each other now, right?"

He nodded, "Yes...but at the same time, it feels different without someone to fight over you," and he chuckled.

She only nuzzled him in response, "Thank you for being my friend."

"What's going on?" Rudolph asked sleepily, entering the living room of Suite 1. The others of Alpha Company stood around awkwardly, waiting for someone to spread the news.

When no one decided to speak and Rudolph turned around to slink back to bed, Rapid suddenly said, "A new mission came up...and it might hit close to home."

"What do you mean?" he asked, groaning, "Can't it wait until tomorrow? I'm exhausted..."

With a sigh, Rapid added, "The Reapers have surfaced again...this time in the Arctic Circle," and Rudolph stiffened, "Specifically around the North Pole."

"What?" the reindeer managed, worried, "What would they be after up there?"

"Maybe your friends and family?" Jazz replied bitterly, "Anyway, we've been called in to investigate. Figured you would especially be eager to go in, considering this is _your_ home their targeting next."

Frowning, Rudolph nodded firmly, "When are we heading out?"

Early the next morning, Alpha Company's Hornet appeared above a seemingly endless snowfield within the Arctic Circle, immediately finding themselves in a whiteout. "Gonna go a little slow here," Aria called over to her companions, wearing winter gear and nearly sweating, even in the unheated machine, "Visibility is jack out here."

"I don't understand why the Reapers would attack this desolate wasteland," Piermont growled, "S'not there's anything worth the time and effort out here, 'cept for some hermits, caribou, and polar bears."

"Hermits are likely what they're after then," Sapphire responded, "They will not stop until every living human being on this planet is dead."

"Why don't they go after the dolphins then? Or the elephants? Or the monkeys? They're a helluva lot smarter than humans."

"Why don't they go after you fucking dragons?" Ruby spat.

"Piss off Rubes, I ain't havin' any of your bullshit today," Piermont growled in response.

"Will both of you shut it already?" Cynder growled, "We have more important things to worry about here."

"Don't bitch at me, Cyn, blame Ruby. She's the bitch with the stick up her ass."

"Quiet, Pierre!" Aria hissed, "Or I'm gonna personally throw your skinny ass out of this vehicle."

Dash sighed, "Jesus, at this rate, the Reapers don't need to do _anything_ to take us down, we'll destroy each other before they even have a chance to get to us."

"No shit," Jazz responded.

"Reluctantly, I have to agree, too," Rapid sighed, "Can't we just get along?"

"Piss off, Reverend," Piermont hissed, "I ain't above putting a fucking bullet between your fuckin' eyes, send you back to the Devil's Arena."

Rapid only sighed, and the Hornet fell silent once more.

The machine landed an hour later inside the ruins of a decrepit fortress, depositing its contents. Although the ruins appeared to have been there for many years, and were half-buried in snow, Rudolph instantly recognized where they were, and his heart sank deep within his chest. "I know this place..." the reindeer began hesitantly.

"Really?" Aria asked, "You've been here before?"

"Ha..." and Rudolph smiled sadly, "More than that...we put it in this state. We're the ones that blew this place to kingdom come."

"We?" Cynder asked.

"Alex and I..." and he turned to face them, "Where we are...this is the old LKA fortress that Alex and I leveled shortly before I joined the Terminators..." and he continued forward, leading the group, "He and Cheet were shot down by the anti-air battery which was..." and he pointed towards a distant cluster of ruined buildings, "Over there, on top of those bunkers. I found them in the wreckage...brought them in before they could freeze to death...Alex agreed to let me join if I helped him locate and destroy the LKA's stronghold up here...one of the last."

As the storm grew stronger, once more rendering visibility to nearly zero, and the bitter cold reached fatal temperatures, Rudolph charged into a rusty steel door barely hanging from its hinges, knocking it flatly to the ground before entering the darkness. Everything was rusted, covered in snow, and had been left untouched by humans for years. There were bones and skeletons scattered about, still clothed in the rotting LKA uniforms.

"This was the main facility...we stormed together..." and Rudolph continued further into the enveloping darkness, eerily silent except for the whistling of the wind through the holes in the walls and roof. He blinked, memory of the facility, back when it was still operational, flashing before his eyes. He could almost hear the sound of gunfire and furious screams ghostly echoing through the forgotten corridors. He smiled sadly, "Ha...it's almost like everything's come full circle..." Eventually, they reached a wide open room, what appeared to have once been a storage room, now nothing more than charred ruins. A single, busted ladder headed up through an open hatch in the roof, "This is how we accessed the batteries...Alex blew up the ammunition with grenades...then we shot our way out..." he kicked aside a pile of used 7.62×39mm shells...no doubt from Alex's weapon. "His discarded clips are even still here..." and Rudolph pointed to a dusty, empty AK47 clip.

"Have to admit..." Cynder began, looking around the decrepit facility, "It's weird...seeing how we're standing in a place Alex leveled over ten years ago...and hasn't been touched since."

"We neutralized the batteries and escaped...then Alex called Elliot in to launch bombing raids against the compound. This place was heavily guarded...I was terrified 'cause I hadn't been mutated yet. Alex blew up a truck I think it was, shot at some fuel barrels, made a big explosion to cause a distraction. We infiltrated during the incident. We narrowly escaped after carving through half of the base in our extraction. "You know..." and Rudolph stopped, "I wonder if this is what will become of New Alexandria or Club Camelot in twenty years..."

"Don't say that, man," Spyro replied with a smile, "Terminators are gonna last forever."

"Nothing last forever, Spyro," Rudolph replied sadly, "Already our old places are long-abandoned and almost forgotten...Fort Ozark, Fort Frostbite, Site Charlie-Bravo, Site Echo-Charlie...it really makes you realize just how much times change. To think that the last time I was here, it was my first night with Alex...before I even joined you guys...now look what's happened, who's joined, since I was the new kid on the block..." and he turned to face them again, "Spyro, Cynder, Aria, Rainbow Dash, Ruby...so many of you. Most people have the Second Civil War in recent memory, even though it ended over two years ago...but this...this all happened way before the war. This happened before Mabao, before 'Necro', before the Tartarus Unit, the Shade King..." he shook his head, "Jeez...it's weird...but it really hits home being here...in this...place."

Piermont finally bared his teeth in irritation, "Yeah? Wonderful! But enough frikkin' storytelling, gramps, we got a job to do," and he continued forward, shoving Rudolph out of the way as he took point, "Come on! Enough living in the past!"

Alpha Company all exchanged glances before reluctantly continuing on, with Rudolph trailing at the back of the group.

Eventually, they reached the war room, illuminated faintly by the massive holes in the ceiling, letting in sunlight. Piermont stood before one of the old terminals, yelling towards Dash, "YO! Do your little lightning magic bullshit!"

"What?"

"Get some power to these fucking dinosaurs!"

"Why?"

"Don't ask, God damn it! Just do!"

With an irritated sigh, Dash placed a hoof against what appeared to be an old generator at the back of the room, glowing a bright yellow as she used her electrokinesis to power it back up.

"Beautiful!" Piermont snarled, "Keep juicing, honey, doubt these things can keep on without it."

"What the hell are you even _doing_ , Pierre?" Cynder asked.

"Tryin' to hack the communications array, hopefully to turn it into a giant friggin' Reaper radar."

"And you think that's gonna work?" Rudolph spat, "Did you forget the part where I said 'Elliot bombed this place to kingdom come ten years ago'? Even if you _can_ get something that's been sitting, exposed to the weather, for ten straight years to work properly again, and even if it _didn't_ get damaged by the air strikes, all you're doing is telling the entire armada 'Hey! Alpha Co. is here! Come get us!'"

"Yeah? Point is?"

"Are you _trying_ to get us killed!?"

"Fuck you, Rudy, you don't make the rules here. You were always a cowardly little shit, ever since you joined! There's a reason why you ain't High Command."

"Pierre!" Cynder spat, aghast.

"Shut it, nigger, I ain't in the mood."

Stunned speechless, Cynder exchanged shocked, jaw-dropping glances with the others of her unit, all who had similar responses. Spyro, frowning, firmly stepped forward, "All right, Pierre, enough is enough! Dash! Kill it."

"But..."

"That's an order!"

With a shrug, Dash complied, and as the power shut off once again, Piermont unleashed a steady barrage of furious swears at both the Pegasus and the small dragon. "Fucking hell, faggot! What the _hell_ do you think you're doing!?"

"Pierre, _you're_ not in command here," Spyro snarled, " _I_ am! _I'm_ Alex's wing-second and second-in-command, _you_ hold no rank here! You're not even on our roster!"

"You are _NOT_ in control here, Purple Boy! Alex is gone!"

"Exactly! And _THAT'S_ why I _AM_ in control! I'm his second!"

"Bullshit! You're third, behind _me_! That's one of the little unmentioned rules."

" _WHAT!?_ "

"Alex set up the structure with the belief that if _he_ died, _I_ would suicide or berserk out, leaving _you_ as batter up in the chain of command. So guess what, asshole? As long as _I'M_ alive, _I'm_ in command!"

"Like hell you are!" and Spyro, with a vicious roar, charged towards Piermont. The human-form dragon merely sidestepped out of the way, grabbing him by the wing and tossing him across the room. Spyro crash landed into a stack of boxes and computer terminals, quickly becoming buried beneath the garbage.

The room remained silent as Piermont glared out towards the rest of Alpha Company, eyes wild and insane with anger, "Anyone else wanna challenge me?"

Silence.

"No? Good!" and he turned towards Dash again, "C'mon, honey, juice it!"

Reluctantly, Dash did as she was told, and Piermont once more began the process of accessing the ancient database. "C'mon you little bitch," he snarled, "Gimme some head...c'mon..."

Finally, the terminal flickered to life and he, with an exclamation of victory, rapidly began typing at the computer. Within an instant, several other computers throughout the room hummed to life, and a broken, holographic image of a globe flickered on and off in the center of the room.

"Ha ha! I knew these military-grade dinosaurs still had some life in 'em! Shit's resilient!"

"Let me help you," Rudolph began nervously, shifting boxes off of Spyro before helping the dragon up. The small beast was fuming, furious enough that he seemed on the verge of tears, and he shook his head in disbelief.

"I...I can't believe it," Spyro managed, voice broken with rage, "He can't do this! He can't!"

"Just...let him be," Rudolph sighed, "He's at his breaking point...and if he snaps, I don't know what the hell he's capable of."

"Damn it, Rudy! We can't put up with this crap! We need to put him down."

"How are we gonna achieve that, Commander? He's tougher than all of us."

"Bullshit. You push the right buttons, and his fury becomes self-destructing."

"Yeah? And who is killed in the crossfire?"

Spyro sighed, knowing very well that Alpha Company would either be partly or completely destroyed before they would manage to take Piermont down. "All I know, Rudy, is that we need to do something. He's dangerous, he's unstable, and he's a ticking time bomb that will _literally_ go off at _any_ given second."

"I'm open to ideas," Rudolph replied, "But I can't think of anything."

Spyro grimly smiled, "Neither can I...or at least...nothing that isn't too risky to attempt."

"Found 'em!" Piermont laughed maddeningly, interrupting the duo. Alpha Company reunited around the human-form dragon as the globe projection zoomed on the location of what seemed to be a large number of Reaper forces. What was particularly strange, was that the forces didn't seem to be moving, and they were very close...

"Jesus..." Cynder began, voice unsure, "According to this, they're right here with us..."

"It doesn't gauge depth," Jazz replied, "Meaning, I bet you twenty bucks we're right on top of 'em."

"The ground is hollow?" Rudolph asked, worried.

"Globing warming, buddy," Piermont smirked.

"No," Cynder replied, shaking her head, "Probably a bunker of some sort, or a bomb shelter...let's look around, see if we can find an access."

"How did command find out the Reapers were here again?" Simba asked, frowning.

"A bunch of Husks attacked a village about two miles east of here," Rapid replied, "Cyn's right, let's split up and look for an access down."

Spyro and Cynder eventually found what they were looking for, a busted vent in the floor, just wide enough for an adult human being to fit through and descending into complete darkness. What was odd, is that the hole didn't seem to be leftover from the bombing runs, it seemed relatively new, and it seemed to have been dug up, judging by the pile of snow and frozen dirt around the opening. "Wonderful..." Jazz sighed, "Just what we need, friggin' claustrophobia."

"Who's going first?" Cynder asked.

"Well..." Aria began, scratching her head, "Freakin' YOLO I guess..." and she hopped down into the hole, going prone and beginning to crawl her way through. The rest of Alpha Company followed along behind her, those who were too big to fit in their natural forms adopting human forms to get through. For an hour, they crawled through a series of incredibly tight and claustrophobic tunnels, afraid that their combined body heat would cause the structurally unsound passages to collapse, burying them alive. Eventually, however, they reached the end of the passages, falling a few short feet down onto permafrost. Although they were deep underground, the cave systems were surprisingly well lit, illuminated in a deep green hue from crystal-like objects crusting the walls and low ceilings.

"I've got a bad feeling about this..." Dash began, frowning.

"Stay close..." Rapid replied, nodding forward, "Who knows what's down here."

After passing through a few caves, they reached a very dark, wide open room, and Cynder exclaimed, "Oh my God...guys...you might want to take a look at this..."

The others joined her, their jaws dropping as they viewed the sight before them. The chamber was massive, at least a hundred feet tall, twice that wide, spotted with the luminescent green crystals that pulsated with an eerie, almost radioactive glow. That wasn't even the most terrifying feature of the room, however. It was literally filled to the brim with pulsing, green, fleshy, egg-like objects attached to the floor, ceiling, and walls, thousands of them. Hundreds of Husks stood around idly, inactive, and in the heart of the room, surrounded by the eggs, was a large, slumbering Reaper ship.

"I don't like this at all..." Rudolph replied in a small voice.

"What the hell are we gonna do? We can't possibly destroy all of these!" Jazz hissed, voice a whisper.

Piermont chuckled in a deep, menacing tone, "Oh, we are gonna do _exactly_ that..." and he stepped forward into the room, unstrapping his M240, equipped with a grenade launcher and ACOG scope, loading a fresh grenade.

"Pierre!" Cynder exclaimed, "No! Don't!"

"WAKEY, WAKEY YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!" and he opened fire on the room, smashing any and all eggs he saw in his path. The Husks suddenly activated, charging towards him, but the Reaper, crusted in ice, slumbered on.

"You idiot!" Jazz roared, charging forward and trying to wrangle the weapon from Piermont's grasp, "What the _FUCK_ do you think you're doing!"

"Quiet, rabbit!" Piermont roared, smashing the butt of his M240 against Jazz's head, sending him to the ground. The rabbit picked himself up, only to find himself staring into the barrel of the human-form dragon's weapon. "I've had enough of your bullshit! I've had enough of _ALL_ of your bullshit!" and he opened fire towards Alpha Company, scattering them.

When more Husks reached the group, Piermont's attention was temporarily diverted from his companions. Spyro took this opportunity to move closer to Piermont, intending to intercept and restrain the crazed mutant. Once the last Husk fell, however, Piermont was instantly upon them once again, and Spyro was forced to retreat into cover against the onslaught of Piermont's rounds.

"What?" the dragon cackled laughter, "That ain't enough for ya? Then have a load of this!" and he loaded a fresh grenade into the chamber, firing it towards Spyro's cover. Suddenly, the remaining eggs began to shake and break open, spewing neon green, glowing fluid from within. Husks clawed their way out of the fleshy spheres, instantly charging towards Alpha Company. With Piermont firing at them from ahead and the Husks charging at all sides, they were painted into a very deadly corner. The dragon only acknowledged the Husks when they were almost upon him, during which he brought them down before returning his attention to his comrades. Eventually, he ran out of ammo, and as turned to reload his weapon, Spyro and Cynder both charged forward. Once he realized they were after him, Piermont dropped his weapon, withdrawing his Desert Eagle and preparing to fire. Before he could get a shot off, he was knocked to the ground by Jazz, tackling him from behind and swiftly neutralizing him with a knockout blow to the head.

"Spyro! Cynder! I got him! You guys concentrate on these damn creatures!"

Soon running low on ammunition, Alpha Company began to pull back to the tunnels, hoping to get away from the Husks charging after them, Jazz dragging along Piermont's unconscious body. Before they could reach them, however, a distant, piercing scream broke the silence, and they could hear Rudolph telepathically cry out to them for help. Once quick glance among them showed that he was the only one missing.

"Bloody hell!" Rapid exclaimed, "They got Rudy!" and he turned back towards the army of Reaper forces.

"Reverend! Where the hell are you going!?" Jazz growled.

"I'm not going to leave him behind! You guys get going!" and he reloaded his _own_ M240, "I'll go grab Rudy and I'll meet you all back at the surface."

"I'm coming with you," Jazz replied, handing off Piermont to the human-form Cherub, reloading his M16. Simba, Kovu, and Dash also joined Rapid's side.

"You take care of yourselves," Aria replied, "Else I will kick your asses."

"Rog," and Rapid gave her a thumbs up, "Now go! Go!"

With Alpha Company forcing themselves back into the tunnels, Rapid led Jazz, Dash, Simba, and Kovu back into the room with the frozen Reaper, engaging or avoiding the Husks running around in a mindless frenzy around the room. Once the action had calmed, the squad continued forward, singling out Rudolph's rapid, terrified heartbeat in the mutual mind bank and using it to trace his location. This brought them through the room and into another labyrinth of corridors, this time without the illuminating crystals. When the tunnels opened up into a wide open room, near the ceiling of an underground cave, they peeked down, spying an ocean of magma bubble a hundred feet down. "Where the hell are we?" Dash asked.

"Stay alert..." Rapid replied, "We're entering the gates of Hell now, boys..."

They soon reached the end of the path, a large, circular platform above the ocean of magma, with charred corpses impaled on stalagmites dotting the area. A harsh, unbelievable amount of pain ripped through them then, sending them to the ground, taking their breath away, just like that, Rudolph's voice in the mutual mind bank had gone silent.

"What the hell!?" Dash coughed, "What was that!? What happened to Rudy!?"

A loud, machine-like screech answered her exclamation, and they turned around to spy a twisted, infected form fall to the ground from the ceiling. It picked itself up, leaving a puddle of dark green blood and a huge part of what was once its abdomen on the ground. Its liquefied intestines splashed and squelched onto the ground as it crawled towards them, its converted form barely recognizable.

"Oh no..." Cynder replied.

The creature, what once was Rudolph, continued towards them the infection spreading rapidly across what little remained of natural flesh, he had been impaled, and the impact of removing himself (or being removed) from the impaling object had ripped out a massive chunk of his torso. A dozen Husks joined him, dropping from the ceiling and growling towards the party. With another hellish, metallic screech, the infected Rudolph charged towards them. The group scattered, with Jazz and Rapid unloading the last of their ammunition onto the creature, not even fazing it.

The Husks that had joined the infected Rudolph charged towards them, heads and arms flailing around. The group proceeded to neutralizing these in various means, ripping or cutting the machines to shreds, or knocking them into the magma. Soon, only the infected Rudolph remained. He attacked aggressively and unpredictably, taking advantage of his mutated abilities. Even while the party became exhausted from the fight, Rudolph continued, relentless. He charged into Simba, knocking him to the ground and snapping towards the lion. Simba used as much force as he could keeping his infected comrade from landing a bite with the razor-like shreds of metal that had overtaken his teeth. "Sorry about this, buddy..." the lion began in between gasps of breath, and he headbutted the creature, dazing him. Before Rudolph could recover from the attack, Simba kicked the creature's chest powerfully with his rear legs, flipping the monster over the edge of the cliff and into the magma below. It screamed and screeched in terror, more machine than creature, and the group gathered around the edge, watching as the creature lashed out in its molten bath, the metallic flesh melting off of its bloody bones before they burned to ash. Eventually, the creature, now nearly skeletal, collapsed into the molten rock, going under with a flare of heat and fire, silencing it forever.

With the shock of the battle wearing off, the party was overcome with grief at the loss of one of their own, especially in such a twisted, sudden form. Sparing a brief moment of silence for their fallen brother, they began making their way back to the surface.

Upon reemergence onto the surface, they were greeted by the ashen faces of the rest of their unit, all seeming to know exactly what had happened, even before a word had been spoken. Even if they didn't know the details of what had become of Rudolph, they knew he was lost when the phantom pains of an Alpha Company death had ripped through their bodies. They spared several minutes of silence for him, interrupted only when Piermont began to stir from his unconsciousness. Before he even had a chance to recover, he was swiftly knocked back out by a stomp to the head by a grieving Spyro. Exchanging saddened glances with each other, they navigated back outside of the building, back to where the Hornet currently sat on the former helipad. Although snow still drifted from the sky, the wind and blizzard had ceased, and the stricken members of Alpha Company piled into the machine, soon taking off into the bright skies and heading back towards New Alexandria.

"Fox..." Spyro began over the radio, "This is Spyro..."

"Have you found the source of the Reapers?" Fox asked.

Spyro nodded, "Yeah...relaying the coordinates to you now...do us all a favor and use the _Ring_ to burn the whole fucking place to oblivion. Don't stop until it's a huge fucking crater."

"What happened down there?"

Silence for a few moments before Spyro replied, "We'll tell you when we get back. Out."


	9. Chapter VIII: The Fall of Pride Rock

_**Chapter VIII**_ **:**

 **-''The Fall of Pride Rock''-**

 **-New Alexandria, Montana-**

 **- _31 March 2015_ -**

 **- _2341 Hours_ -**

"Cynder..." Spyro began, finding his mate standing outside on the balcony outside of their room in Suite 1, overlooking the still-smoldering embers of the distant _Fiernes Curtain_ , and the grassy Burned Lands, now a muddy mess in the aftermath of the melted snow from a recent snowstorm. The she-dragon slowly turned to face her mate, wearing a grim expression. Her skin was pale and stretched tightly over her skull, she was clearly suffering from major sleep deprivation, and Spyro could have sworn he could make out unusual, line-like discolorations on her wrists.

Sighing, Cynder replied, "What is it, Spyro?"

"I'm coming to bed...you coming with?"

She shrugged, "Maybe, I don't know..."

"What's wrong?" and he stood beside her, "C'mon, talk to me."

"The hell do you _think_ is wrong?" Cynder snapped, soon catching herself and apologizing, "Sorry, I'm just...I'm tired, that's all. I'm tired, I'm stressed, and...all of this...it's just too much. In the space of a year, we lost Tails, we lost Terrias, we lost Alex, and now Rudolph? What on Earth is going on?"

"Well...this is war."

"Yeah? Then how come we never seen anything like this in the past? Don't you realize how much crap Alpha has been through? Now every time I turn around we're losing _another_ one of our brothers!" and she blinked as tears came to her eyes, "I just...what's happening, Spyro? What's happening and who is next?" she turned to face the remains of the _Curtain_ again, eyes shining in the light as tears trickled down her face and she wiped her snout, "Piermont's on the brink of insanity, Ruby's borderline suicidal, Aria has all but shut up completely...Alpha Company is hanging on by a thread...if that..."

"Thinks will get better, I promise," Spyro replied, "Once the Reapers are gone, vengeance will be served and we can relax again...we'll have closure."

"Closure won't bring them back!" Cynder hissed, "It won't bring Rudolph back...it won't bring Alex back..."

"I know how you feel," Spyro replied gently, trying to comfort her, "I miss Alex, too."

"It's not just Alex anymore...who else is next? Who else will die before this is all over?"

"Hey..." and he nuzzled her head with his, "Everything will be okay. Just you wait and see."

She whispered to him, "I don't want to lose anymore of my family..."

"Neither do I."

"What are we going to do? There's no end to the Reapers it seems...and we never have any idea where they'll strike next. How can we stop something that's nearly indestructible?"

He smiled towards her, "Just pray, Cyn...that's all we can do, just pray..." and he nudged her, "Now let's go back inside...it's cold out here."

Reluctantly, Cynder nodded, and Spyro returned into his room, his mate on his heels.

"Ruby, are you awake?"

The cow's eyes shot open and she looked around the pool. Sapphire was resting beside her, so it wasn't him that had spoken to her.

"C'mon, girl, are you at least gonna say hi?"

Ruby, identifying the voice, stiffened, and she turned around, gasping. Alex sat on the side of the pool, bare feet casually swinging in the water, the young man himself wearing a wide, toothy grin. At first, she smiled, feeling an overwhelming amount of love shooting throughout her body at the sight of her mate. However, that happiness quickly dissolved into unhappiness once she realized what was going on, and she slowly turned back face the door to Club Camelot, nuzzling Sapphire and pressing her body against him.

"Don't be this way, Ruby...for Christ's sake..."

"You aren't real..." Ruby replied, her voice a small whisper, and she shook her head, "You're the same creature that tried to kill me in Florida."

It adopted a dark aura, and Ruby, suddenly afraid it would try to harm her again, felt her heart skip a beat.

In a gritty, malicious tone, it replied, "The only creature trying to kill you is your own conscience! You can't bare to live without your precious human by your side, can you?" but she ignored it. It chuckled, the sound dead and corpse-like, "Pathetic...even your childhood friend cannot satiate your desires...you want the human."

"Go away," Ruby replied, her voice weak.

"What was that? I can't hear you!" and it laughed once again.

"I said GO AWAY!" the dolphin exclaimed, voice strong and heartbroken, enough to rouse Sapphire, but not wake him. When she turned around again, relief overcame her as she spied the presence completely missing.

"I'm sorry to do this to you guys, especially after recent events..." Fox began in a somber tone. Alpha Company sat around the conference room within the command center located in the heart of New Alexandria's military district, having been called there for an apparent emergency.

"It's all right," Spyro sighed, "We just need a break, that's all, though I get we won't get one until the Reapers either are destroyed or decide to stay low for more than two fucking seconds...you might as well just tell us where we're going and leave it at that."

Silence for a few moments before a seemingly offended Fox continued, "Last night, an army of Reaper shock troops, including both Infected and Indoctrinated, as well as...and this is gonna sound _really_ freaking crazy...but dinosaurs..."

"What?" Spyro interrupted, and Alpha Company all adopted alarmed expressions.

"I know..." Fox replied, scratching his head nervously, "Looks like the Reapers aren't working alone...a new faction has entered the race: a bunch of dinosaurs, mostly small, carnivorous ones, such as velociraptors. Interrogation of Indoctrinated out in the field claim that these creatures are called ' _Perditus_ ', which, in Latin, translates as 'Lost'."

"Great!" Jazz spat, "So now we got friggin' dinos in addition to the bullshit Husks and Indoctrinated...isn't that just wonderful."

"Anyway," Fox continued, "As I was saying...last night, Infected, Indoctrinated, and _Perditus_ launched a completely unexpected surprise attack on Pride Rock..."

" _WHAT!?_ " both Simba and Nala exclaimed in unison, and both Kovu and Kiara wore similarly-horrified expressions. With a powerful roar, Simba continued, "When are we going there!"

"Patience...patience..." Fox replied, trying to calm the furious lion down, "I was getting there. The Reaper forces mass-attacked, without warning, against both Fort Savannah and Pride Rock. Our forces took heavy casualties, but as of right now, we're holding, even if just barely. I was hoping we could get away without sending Alpha Company down there...I wanted to give you guys some time after the stuff that happened with Rudy but..." and he shook his head, "We need you down there right now. Intelligence suggests that the Reapers are afraid of you, and we need that kinda morale build out there right now. Plus, you guys are much more resilient than our normals...I know you can't do much against the Reapers themselves...we have Beta Company dealing with those...but we need boots on the ground to deal with their shock troops. Beta Company can handle the machines if you all can keep pressure from the infantry off of them. Infected are growing smarter, they've learned how to use basic firearms and projectile launchers. This mission is incredibly dangerous, more so than usual, so I need you guys to keep your heads in the game, so we don't lose anymore...

"With _Perditus_ in the game, we're dealing with natural-born, formerly extinct killers, the kind of critters that were on the top of the food chain sixty-five million years ago. Regardless of what horrific experiments and other things the Reapers did to resurrect these ancient monsters, I wouldn't doubt if these creatures still have that deadly efficient killer instinct. Hopefully, they won't pose _too_ much of a threat against you, but scientists _still_ haven't even begun to scratch the surface of the kinds of animals we had roaming the earth in prehistory, so it's a wild-ass guess as to what you'll find once you get there. Listen, as much as I want to say some words of encouragement..." and Fox fell silent, shaking his head, "We're in some very dark times, on the doorstep of Armageddon...it's gonna be hard, but we cannot lose. These things are tough, true, but they are not quite invincible. It takes a lot, but they _can_ be brought down...we need you guys to _really_ focus here. It's up to you guys, and everyone else on this damned planet, to overcome this evil and literally save the future of humankind. We need you guys more than ever...the _world_ needs you guys more than ever. I know this is hard, and I know you've lost a lot...but you cannot stop now. We need to keep the momentum going, or we're as good as dead. I've got faith in you guys, and you guys got the spirit of Rudolph, Alex, and everyone else we've lost surging through your blood...you can do it, I know you can. Now, rendezvous at Anderson Airfield in an hour at the latest...dismissed."

The Hornet emerged in the smoky skies above the Sahara less than an hour later. The trumpets of the Reapers were loud and booming in the sky, and Alpha Company, although motivated by Fox's speech, felt their hearts sink as they turned to face the skies outside. At least fifteen Reapers were waging war against the desert. The ground below was painted red in blood, and thousands of soldiers, both Reaper, friendly, and neutral, clashed on the bloody sands, giving Alpha Company the realization that this was the largest and bloodiest battle they've had to fight to date. Jazz stood up, smacking the button on the wall to lower the ramp of the Hornet, and Alpha Company took up defensive positions, firing out towards pterodactylsdogging their Hornet. "Jesus..." Jazz spat, noticing the eerily reptilian birds attacking them. Like the other Reaper forces, they had dark blue, almost black metallic veins spiderwebbing throughout their bodies, their eyes were a bright, glowing, pupil-less yellow, and their screeches were like fingernails on a chalkboard and heavily metallic, "I thought these things were feathered!?"

"Either science knows jack," Rapid replied, opening fire on the pursuing birds with his M240, "Or the Reapers used reptilian DNA to replace the absent links, removing the feathers from their genetic code. Either one I'd believe."

"My God...these things are massive," Sapphire blinked, and indeed they were. The creatures coming after them had a ten to fifteen foot wingspan, towered almost ten feet in the air while standing, their heavy, almost metallic scales provided surprisingly effective armor against the hail of bullets. Once the skies were clear, the Hornet hovered above the grassland, depositing its crew onto the ground. Immediately, they were attacked on all sides by a combination of Husks and velociraptors. The raptors could move quickly, jump fairly high, were about the size, if not slightly larger, than an average adult human being, and had not a single feather on them. Their scales alternated between a dark, dirty brown or a deep bluish-gray, and the metallic veins spread throughout their bodies, following the natural pattern of their scales. Unlike the pterodactyls, their eyes resembled those of existing reptiles, such as crocodiles or alligators, and their mouths naturally curved into an insane grin. When they opened their mouths to communicate, an eerie combination of metallic screeches and calls, they revealed hundreds of small but incredibly razor-sharp fangs.

"Jeez...these things look as if they were ripped straight from _Jurassic Park_ ," Rapid remarked, shaking his head.

"Wouldn't be surprised if that's what the Reapers based 'em off, Reverend," Jazz smirked, firing his fully automatic M16 towards a pack of them charging towards him. They clumsily tripped up, going down with relative ease. Although their scales still provided some effective armor, they weren't nearly as impenetrable as the pterodactyls. However, in place of resistance, they were incredibly agile, literal blurs when they moved, and the challenge was hitting them before they mercilessly ripped apart or ate their assailant.

Once they had cleared out the first wave of enemy forces, Simba quickly turned to face the distant Pride Rock, snarling. With a powerful, booming roar, he raced forward, the others of Alpha Company trying to call him back, but he didn't listen. "Simba!" Nala cried, "Wait for me!" and she raced forward, in pursuit.

"Wait! Wait!" Spyro exclaimed, then, with an exasperated sigh, "God damn it!"

"What do we do?" Cynder asked.

"Well, we might as well fight to the rock, hopefully we can keep those two from getting completely encircled by these things..."

"Simba's tough," Jazz replied, popping his neck and loading a fresh clip into his weapon, "He and Nala are the oldest members here, they can take care of themselves better than _we_ can."

"Yeah?" Spyro grimaced, "But this ain't anything we've seen before."

"There's a first time for everything," and Jazz hopped ahead, the others of Alpha Company in tow.

"Aria!" Cynder called over the radio, "Need you to cover Simba and Nala's asses, they ran off on us. They're heading to Pride Rock, keep them covered."

"Roger," Aria called back, "What about the rest of you, over?"

"We'll handle our own."

With a sigh, Aria replied, "Roger, Blackbird copies all, out."

They soon found themselves surrounded by several platoons of Husks, commanded by Indoctrinated commanders, with _Perditus_ dispersed within, surprisingly not turning against their allies. "Why aren't those damn dinosaurs eating their buddies!?" Spyro asked, confused.

"Odds are the Reapers are controlling them through the same way they're controlling the Indoctrinated," Cynder replied, "I wouldn't be surprised if those flying squid have complete and utter control over every single one of their forces here."

"Fucking hiveminds, man..." Jazz spat, unloading on the charging Husks.

Simba charged up the slab of rock onto Pride Rock, bellowing his arrival. All around him, Reaper forces attacked, only for him to dodge these and counter by taking them down. The rest of his former were scattered around, either dead, infected, or engaging an uphill battle with the outnumbering enemy forces. No one even noticed his arrival amid the chaos. Everything was in flames, and although the lions were holding their own against the Husks, the Indoctrinated and _Perditus_ were relentless, showing them no mercy and slicing cleanly through the dwindling numbers. Simba, fueled only by his anger, pounced upon one of the Reaper raptors, ripping its throat out in a spray of black blood, smelling and tasting like engine oil. The whole den smelled strongly of a mechanic's shop, mixed with burning flesh and very faintly of natural blood.

Suddenly, Simba could hear an insane rambling, and a raspy, mechanical, laughing mad voice reached his sensitive ears, "It looks like we have some friends here to play!"

The lion instantly turned around to face the Reaper general Thanatos standing behind him. Thanatos picked up the adult lion, effortlessly tossing him across the room, and exclaiming with insane glee, "Hello, dear friend!"

"Simba!" Nala exclaimed, rushing into the den, gasping at the sight of Thanatos.

"Ooh! We have another one joining the fray!" the general replied, lifting Nala into the air via a sort of telekinesis and tossing her into the next room of the cave system. "Ares! I have brought a friend for you!"

"Excellent..." the second general replied, dropping from the ceiling between the floored Nala and the room within which Simba was in. He used his terrakinesis to raise the rocky floor and block the entrance between the two caves, trapping Nala in the room with him and him alone.

"NALA!" Simba exclaimed, running to the blocked entrance, "NO!"

Nala, pressing her back against the barricade, staring down the lumbering Ares, approaching her steadily, called back, "Simba! I'll find a way out! You worry about Thanatos! I can take care of this guy!"

Thanatos launched himself towards Simba, laughing maniacally, attempting to impale the lion on his vibrating, high-frequency blade. Simba leaped out of the way and Thanatos landed, planting his sword in the ground. He stood up, trying to pull the weapon free, and Simba took this distraction as an opportunity to attack the general. The lion closed his jaws around Thanatos' neck, the general crying out in pain while that oily taste, faintly spiked with the coppery taste of natural blood, filled the lion's mouth, leaving a sick, syrupy, slick residue. Simba tore away, leaping back, growling towards Thanatos, who was now pressing a gloved hand against the puncture in his neck, spewing black, oily blood that stained his cloak. Ripping his sword free from the rock, Thanatos growled in anger, lunging towards Simba, who rolled beneath the attack. "That's not very nice, friend!" Thanatos hissed.

Nala cried back as she was thrown across the room by Ares, slamming painfully into the wall of the cavern and sliding into a crumpled heap on the ground. The blue sparks of healing dancing across her various wounds, she unsteadily picked herself up, out of breath, staring face to face with the stoic Ares, who said nothing, only approached her once again. Finally, he said, "Enough foreplay!" and in a swift, fluid motion, his three-fingered hands grabbed the hilt of the high-frequency blade at his waist, sliding it out of its sheathe, "Now, it's time for intercourse!"

Nala smirked, "I prefer to tease."

With a snarl, Ares lunged towards her, and she jumped towards him, corkscrewing around his stab and connecting with his torso, knocking the general to the ground with a deep, throaty grunt. Nala grinned spitefully, saying, "Besides, I'm not even wet yet."

"DAMN THEM!" Jazz snarled, shooting through the charging Reaper forces between them and Pride Rock, "Aria! Where the hell are those sons of bitches!?"

"They went into Pride Rock, I haven't seen them since."

"What the hell do you mean you haven't bloody seen them! How the bloody hell did they survive through all this shit!"

"Your guess is as good as mine, Jazz."

"Fucking hell!" he spat, decapitating a charging raptor.

"Steady as she goes, guys," Spyro began, out of breath, "We're making good progress..."

"Like _hell_ we are! We've barely moved fifty fucking feet!" Jazz exclaimed, "In like thirty goddamn minutes!"

"You break out and go in barking mad, and you're dead! Don't be stupid, slow and steady win the race!"

"Fuck you!"

"There's no end in sight," Rapid said, distressed, "How many more _are_ there!?"

"Keep going," Spyro replied, dodging a lunge by another raptor and swiftly snapping its neck, killing it instantly, "We'll get there eventually..."

"But...Simba and Nala...!"

"They can hold their own until we get there, they have more experience than all of us," Spyro replied, "Am I right or am I right?"

"Spyro's right," Cynder added, flaming a group of Husks that had charged towards her, "Eventually we'll make it. Until then, I'm sure Simba and Nala are fine."

"Hold on, guys," Aria interrupted, "Going all out in a strafing run."

"Why can't you see?" Thanatos pleaded, "The peak of humanity! A world united? Humanity will evolve!"

"Humanity will go extinct!" Simba spat, "As will _all_ intelligent species! I know how your kind operates!"

"You no nothing!" Thanatos snarled, tossing Simba across the room with his telekinesis, "Because you are blind in your ignorance! You fight against that which you cannot understand! You must embrace the Reapers! You _must_ embrace your evolution!"

"Over my dead body!" Simba roared, charging once more towards Thanatos, dodging the general's throwing knives. The lion charged into the Reaper general, stumbling him and swiping at him. Thanatos fought back against Simba, trying to overthrow the lion, but finding his attacks deflected by the furious mutant. Finally, Thanatos managed to kick the lion off of him, quickly standing upright and telekinetically calling his sword back to him. The Reaper general then charged towards the lion, but Simba dodged the lunge, batting at the creature with his paw and knocking loose his helmet.

"Why won't you submit already!" Thanatos roared, slashing furiously towards the lion, who managed to evade all the attacks. Once more, Simba swiped his paw at Thanatos, this time dislodging his face mask and sending it clattering across the room.

Simba instantly froze in place, jaw dropping, "You..."

Nala continued her assault against Ares, dodging and disarming him whenever she could. Although the general moved slower and more clumsily than his partner, he still moved with eerie agility, little more than a blur at full speed. When his slashes continued to be ineffective against his opponent, Ares began to rely on his terrakinesis more and more, doing everything he could to try and knock the lioness off her guard. Despite this, and her own exhaustion, she continued the fight, acknowledging that submission meant death.

"You are wasting my time!" Ares roared.

Nala, exhausted, but still forcing a victorious smile, only replied, "Then give up and leave this place alone."

"Not until every last one of your allies have submitted to us...have become one with the machine!"

"Almost there!" Spyro roared, "Keep it up! We're making good progress!"

"Looks like we're finally starting to thin out their forces," Rapid replied with a wide grin, "About damn time!"

"Beta Company has just brought down another Reaper," Aria interrupted over the line, "Eight down, two to go."

"We shoulda just said 'fuck it' and glassed this whole damn expanse, turned it into one big fuckin' crater," Jazz replied grimly, "Woulda made our jobs a hella lot easier."

"Too close to civilization," Spyro replied, shaking his head.

"Bullshit, all we got is some tribal villages around here, ain't nothing that nobody's gonna miss."

"Keep thinking that way, buddy, and you'll be put down...again."

"What? Why?"

"Cause the Shade King will be back," Cynder replied, sending the rabbit a sly grin.

Stepping onto the ramp leading up to the rock, Sapphire called over the music of the battle, "I see Simba!"

"No...impossible..." Simba replied in shock, backing away from Thanatos, who had retrieved and replaced his mask.

"Submit to us, let us embrace you, evolve you..."

"Stay away!" Simba roared, now desperate, "I will have none of your lies!"

"Then you will die!" and as Thanatos readied his blade, Simba lashed out towards the Reaper general. Thanatos pulled back, thrusting his blade forward, impaling the lion through his belly. His jaw dropping, blood beginning to run from his mouth, Thanatos lifted Simba above his head and tossed the lion forward. The blade ripping free from his abdomen, Simba hit the ground, rolling several times, eventually stopping on his side, a pool of deep red quickly growing around him. Thanatos stepped towards the downed lion, grabbing him by the throat and pinning him against the wall of the cave. "We offered you our mercy," the Reaper general began, "You rejected us. Now, you will _never_ become one with us!" and he stabbed his free hand into the wound in Simba's chest. The lion cried out in pain as the creature dug even deeper into his body. "You will regret refusing our generous offer..." in a swift, fluid motion, Thanatos tore the lion's heart from his chest in a spray of blood and bone, holding the bloody organ before his eyes. "You have crushed our heart...and so...we crush yours..." and Thanatos closed his fist over Simba's heart, squeezing it until it burst in a spray of blood and gore. The act finished, the Reaper general tossed the corpse aside, turning to look out the cave as Alpha Company, so close to their destination, reacted to the death of another one of their own.

The barricade created by Ares exploded behind him, and Thanatos turned to watch as Nala's bloodied body flew across the room, hitting the ground and rolling out of the cave. "Thanatos..." Ares began, "It is time for us to leave, Harbinger has called us."

Thanatos turned to face the crippled Alpha Company once again, laughing, "One day, you, too, will either become one with the Reapers, or face your demise...but not today..."

Dazed with the pain of Simba's passing, Spyro unsteadily picked himself up, turning to face the skies as a transport ship hovered above the rock, and both Reaper generals leaped into it. Their passengers aboard, the ships took off, raising into the skies and disappearing into slipspace. One by one, the surviving Reapers teleported away, leaving the remaining friendly forces to engage the remnant of the Reaper infantry.

Once they had recovered from the phantom pain, Alpha Company stumbled over to where Nala lay slumped, slowly regaining consciousness. Spyro, Cynder, Jazz, and Rapid walked over to where Simba's body lay, unable to observe the grisly sight. Spyro turned to face Cynder, who's eyes began to water. Jazz and Rapid each paid their respects before rejoining the rest of their comrades, with Jazz ordering for Aria to touch down. With their Hornet hovering a few feet above the rock, Jazz once more returned to the sight of where Simba had fallen, lifting the lion's body and tossing it over his shoulders, taking it back to the waiting Hornet.

The machine taking off, Spyro contacted New Alexandria, and with a sigh, said, "Fox...the Reapers pulled out, we're heading back home..."

Bleu came back over the line, tentatively asking, "Why do I have a feeling that there's something else...?"

After several seconds of hesitation, Spyro finally admitted, struggling to maintain control over his trembling voice, "We lost Simba...Thanatos killed him."

Cynder sat alone in the shower, holding Alex's combat knife, examining it. Closing her eyes and expanding her mind to ensure everyone else was asleep, she placed the cold steel of the blade against one of her wrists, making a small cut through the scale and flesh. She winced at the pain, the running water around her growing a deep red, and she watched as the sparks of healing danced across the injury, closing it and leaving another thin, white scar. As she moved to make another cut, there was a faint knocking on the door, startling her with a brief exclamation of surprise. She hurriedly hid the knife beneath her towel, pulling back just as the door squeaked open and a dark shadow obscured the light through the curtain. "Cynder..." Spyro asked sleepily, "What are you doing still awake?"

"Nothing..." Cynder replied, nervously examining her wrists, "Just need the feel of the water down my back..."

"Well...Bleu just called us, he says that they have some news..."

Cynder sighed, swearing to herself, "What kind of news?"

"He wouldn't say, but he and Fox have called an emergency meeting with the rest of the club down in the lobby...we need to go."

"I'll be right there..." Cynder replied, and once she heard the door close, she reached out of the shower once more, quickly hiding the knife in its usual spot beneath the sink before finally turning off the water and stepping out.

Alpha Company piled into the lobby of Club Camelot, packed to the max with every person staying in the club along with as many guards and grunts they could manage to fit. Bleu stepped forward to the front of the crowd, trying to figure out how his megaphone worked. Fox, standing beside him, quickly educated him on it before the baby dragon himself depressed the button, calling out for silence throughout the crowd. After several minutes, he began, "Okay...our forces down in the Sahara have captured and interrogated a number of Indoctrinated soldiers, and we've found some more information about _Perditus_. They are being manufactured from out in the Regions, specifically somewhere within the Kanto region, it is urgent that every available soldier head to Anderson Airfield for deployment. We are going to launch a direct attack on their headquarters and _hopefully_ take them out of the picture. This mission is urgent and we will be deploying immediately, that will be all!"


	10. Chapter IX: Zinnia

_**Chapter IX**_ **:**

 **-''Zinnia''**

 **-Above Pallet Town: Kanto, The Regions-**

 **- _03 April 2015_ -**

 **- _0741 Hours_ -**

Alpha Company's Hornet emerged in the smoky skies above the burning Regions, finding themselves instantly under assault by _Perditus_ pterodactyls. The sky was dotted with dozens of Reapers, clashing with friendly forces, and Alpha could see that _Perditus_ vastly outnumbered infected and indoctrinated forces on the ground. "Looks like they're really whoring their dinos out," Piermont smirked.

"I'd imagine they're easier to create and deploy than other types of troops," Rapid replied, "Plus, something that can run towards you at speeds matching a motorcycle or even a car is much more effective than a human."

"They're harder to knock around, as well," Jazz added, "And are much more flexible and maneuverable than humans, too."

"So we agree then, _Perditus_ is bad," Rapid replied, "So...what's the plan?" and Aria lowered the Hornet to the ground, spraying the machine's mounted miniguns to clear out the surrounding area and secure a relatively safe landing zone.

"Before we can storm the factory," Cynder began, "We need to find it first."

"How do you propose we do that?" Dash asked.

"Try to find someone who may know something," Spyro answered, "I doubt building something like that would go unnoticed..." then he added, "How do we know we're even _looking_ for a factory, anyway?"

"Indoctrinated people we interrogated mentioned that _Perditus_ is manufactured in an actual factory, they're not even test tube babies really, they're _actually_ built," Rapid responded.

"I find that really hard to believe," Spyro replied, "Even then, I don't trust anything that isn't on our side. How do we know they're not pulling our legs or trying to lead us into a trap? Why would something fully under the enemy control suddenly grow a heart and tell us the truth?"

"Exactly," Jazz replied, "Too suspicious to me. These things are so brainwashed that they honestly believe in that 'glory of the Reapers' bullcrap."

"Well, we can get our facts straight here then," Cynder replied, "Find someone who knows something...there has to be at least _one_ of them around here!"

"Pending that _Perditus_ really _does_ originate from here, which we're basing off of the words of a few delusional monsters fully under the brainwashing of a genocidal group of machines. Forgive me, but I have my doubts," Jazz replied.

"Only one way to find out..." and the she-dragon opened the door, hopping down onto the ground and immediately flaming the surrounding area, trying to establish a somewhat protected line of defense against the encircling monsters. The rest of Alpha Company hopped down to join her, and signaling Aria to take off, they began their approach to the nearby village.

"Aria," Spyro began, "Provide some support fire for us...there's a lotta crap going on around here, things are pretty chaotic."

"Roger that," she replied, laying suppressing fire down on a wall of enemies standing between them and the village.

"Stick together!" Rapid spat, "We don't wanna lose anymore of our guys!"

They charged into town, finding that the local military, as well as Terminator forces, were in the middle of evacuations, trying to shepherd civilians away from areas of conflict and to extraction points, all the while dealing with the invading armada. All around them, terrified townsfolk tried to move their families into safety, some even fighting with everything they had against the attacking Reaper forces that engaged them. Fathers defended their families against Husks that charged towards them, using whatever they could find as weapons, mothers protected their children with their bodies, as if that would stop the machines from getting to them. People everywhere were bloodied and bandaged, and it was almost too much for Alpha Company to take. There were far too many enemies for the militaries to handle, leaving thousands of civilians struggling to fend for themselves.

"We truly are in dark times..." Rapid said in a solemn tone, "God help us."

Jazz smirked, "Yeah, I don't see your god showing up to help them...he seems to be more willing to sit on his ass than help if he _did_ exist..." and the rabbit turned to face Rapid, "You _really_ think that if your buddy existed, he'd let this happen? 'Cause this sure doesn't look like 'protecting his children'."

Rapid fell silent, refusing to respond.

"You guys can duke it out about what is and isn't real once we finish the job."

" _What_ job, Cynder?" Jazz exclaimed, gunning down a pair of raptors that had spotted them, "We're running in blind here! Command has no fuckin' idea where what we're _supposed_ to be looking for even is, _and_ we have no certifiable evidence it exists or, at least, exists here in the _first_ place! Sorry, but I'm not gonna trust the word of some brainwashed, brain-dead experiment gone awry. I've been in that position for, why would these machines want to lead us _right_ to their doorstep?"

"Probably hoping we reconsider the whole 'join us and become one with the machine' offer," Spyro replied, "Can we _really_ argue about this somewhere else?"

Jazz snorted, "Sorry, but this just seems pointless to me. We're here on a blind operation, with no idea what we're even _looking_ for, trusting the word of an enemy who has no aspirations to defect. Doesn't any of this seem a little wrong to you? Surely you have to agree with me, Spyro, isn't your whole commander instinct just screaming 'this is wrong and stupid' to you?"

The dragon remained silent for several seconds before finally replying, "We have a job to do, enough of this."

With an exasperated grunt, the rabbit finally dropped the subject, taking down another indoctrinated soldier as Alpha Company slowly advanced up the street, trying to find someone they could talk to.

As they exited the town, emerging on the dirt road leading towards the next village ahead, Alpha Company was disheartened to discover that _no one_ had any idea of what they were talking about. They also noticed that the concentration of friendly forces had vastly decreased upon exiting the town, as most of them were working to protect and evacuate the citizens during the attack. Eventually, finally accepting that they were not going to have any luck with running into the supposed manufacturing sight of _Perditus_ , Spyro ordered Aria to land and Alpha Company mounted the Hornet. "There has to be another way..." Ruby frowned, "I mean...isn't there anything we can do?"

Piermont chuckled darkly, "Don't you get it, Rubes? We're dead, every last one of us. It's only a matter of time."

"Will you shut up, already?" Dash spat, "You aren't helping."

"You don't seem to realize Dash, we're fucked!" Piermont laughed maniacally, "All we are is delaying the inevitable. There is no base, there is no source of _Perditus_ , the Reapers are leading us to our demise, and we're just playing along without a care in the world. You all make me sick!"

"I don't see _you_ producing a better idea," Sapphire sighed, "The least we can do is make our time count."

"We might as well just walk right up to one of those damned generals and say, 'Ohai! We decided we'd like to join your little orgy fest after all! Hope you have room!' We'd achieve the _exact same objective_ without three quarters of the bullshit and effort."

"The more I think about it..." Ruby began, "Piermont is right...we're dead anyway, we might as well just stop resisting. It's inevitable."

"Then how about I kick both of your asses to the curb and let you die on your own, huh?" Aria growled from the cockpit, "'Cause the rest of us ain't ready to go down without a fight! We still have a will to survive! If we _do_ die, we'll go knowing we took as many of these robo sons of bitches as possible down with us."

Suddenly, a muffled explosion sounded and turbulence ripped through the interior of the Hornet. Alarmed sounded throughout the machine, alerting the startled Alpha Company.

"Shit!" Aria exclaimed, "We're losing altitude!"

"What's going on?"

"Engine #2 is down...doesn't look like there's any external damage...it just stopped responding...and I..."

She was interrupted as a massive, infected dragon charged into them, sending the Hornet into a deadly tailspin towards the ground.

"Hold onto something!" Aria roared, "It's gonna get a little bumpy!"

The Hornet crashed into the heart of a forest, Alpha Company piling out, dazed from the impact. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be any enemies in the immediate vicinity, and they stumbled forward, eyes to the sky looking for whatever had attacked them. Hearing a mechanical roar from behind them, they all turned to see what appeared to have once been a charizard, now having been 'huskified' in a similar vein to Rudolph, hovering in the skies above.

"What the hell _is_ that!?" Sapphire asked, startled.

"Looks like the Reapers are infecting everything they come in contact with..." Jazz replied in a somber tone, "This isn't good."

As the infected Pokemon moved to attack, they were knocked aside by a person, clad in a full body suit of armor, sprinting forward. The person quickly grabbed onto a nearby, low-hanging branch, swinging onto it and quickly scaling the tree. Once atop it, they jumped off, grabbing onto the wing of the infected Pokemon and stabbing it repeatedly with a katana they produced from a sheathe at their waist. Black, syrupy fluid oozed out of the injuries until, with a final stab to the back of the neck, the creature spiraled down to the ground, crashing on the road. The ninja-like person hopped off of the corpse, sheathing their sword and walking over to Alpha Company, preparing to attack.

"Buddy, you have five seconds to tell us who the hell you are and state your purpose here," Jazz growled, "Else I'm putting a bullet between your eyes."

"That's no way to greet an old friend," a distinctly female voice spoke, and she removed her helmet. Fierce, dark brown eyes peered out from beneath long, straightened black hair. She wore a determined face and a sly grin, her skin was tanned and dotted with freckles.

The eyes of the older members of Alpha Company widened, and Piermont, stunned speechless, managed to spit out, " _Zinnia_!? You...you're _alive?_ "

Zinnia Dubois raised her chin to them, "Long time no see..."

"Who is this chick?" Cynder asked, confused.

"An old friend of ours..." Piermont managed, voice distant, before he corrected, "Mainly of Alex's..."

She smiled warmly, "We were more than just friends..." then added, "Where is he, anyway? I figured he would never leave you."

A grim silence fell before the others of Alpha Company, all who looked away from her.

Her smile melted into a frown, and the excited light in her eyes died, "Guys...? Where's Alex?"

Piermont, snarling, looked up to face her, "He's dead. He has been for almost a year."

" _What!?_ " and her jaw dropped, genuine shock overcoming her, "How?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Piermont continued in his cynical tone, "And nobody else here wants to either."

"The Reapers killed him..." Ruby replied in a small voice.

Zinnia looked towards the ground for several seconds, eyes closed, before she turned to face them again, "All the more reason to hunt these things down and destroy every last one of them..."

Spyro nodded towards the felled Pokemon, "What is that thing? What did they _do_ to it?"

Zinnia smirked in disgust, "The locals call them _Gremlins_ , and the Reapers converted captured Pokemon into those...things..." she then asked, "Did he suffer? Alex I mean..."

"He held on for days before he finally succumbed," Piermont frowned for a brief moment before he grinned maliciously, "Now, how about we change the subject, eh?"

"Hey...um...Zinnia..." Cynder began, "Can you help us?"

The young woman, crouching to the ground, stood to her full height, "Depends on what you want help with."

"You know about _Perditus_ right? These dinosaur things?"

"Yeah, what about them?"

"We heard that they're being created from a factory somewhere here in the Regions, you wouldn't by chance know from where, would you?"

"As a matter of fact," Zinnia snarled once more, "I do...but it'll take awhile to get there...we may be able to borrow a helicopter, however. I can be..." she grinned maliciously, "Fairly convincing."


	11. Chapter X: War of the Gods

_**Chapter X**_ **:**

 **-''War of the Gods''**

 **-Above Goldenrod City: Kanto, The Regions-**

 **- _03 April 2015_ -**

 **- _1611 Hours_ -**

"What you're looking for is a creature namedAphrodite," Zinnia began as she and Alpha Company rode the helicopter to their dropoff point in Goldenrod City, the closest town to the factory, "She's also been referred to as _M_ _è_ _r_ _e_ , or Mother."

"What does that have to do with this factory?" Jazz asked spitefully, still unsure of whether or not to trust the young woman.

" _M_ _è_ _r_ _e_ is the creator of _Perditus_. She was first created by the Reapers with the sole intention of producing an expendable but plentiful force capable of going toe-to-toe with a major thorn in their side, you guys, Alpha Company. We don't know much about Aphrodite, however, only that she is the one solely responsible for all of those rampaging monsters you see outside. If you can get to her and destroy her, you can stop production of _Perditus_...at least temporarily. Unfortunately, with these things, they can always pull something else out of their ass, so I wouldn't count on keeping them at bay for very long. Progress is progress though, am I correct?"

"So...why are we even bothering with this Aphrodite character anyway?" Jazz asked, "Why don't we just bomb the whole place to hell and back?"

"Don't you think we've tried?" Zinnia replied, "The building they're operating within is surprisingly resistant to shelling. You need to take it down from the inside to ensure you stop _Perditus_ ' manufacturing. What better way to salt the wound than by killing the very thing responsible for creating those...abominations...in the first place?"

"So what's the plan then?" Rapid asked, "Where's this factory?"

"Just outside of town," Zinnia replied, "We'll also have to shoot our way to it...I know the way but...I don't imagine it's lightly guarded, especially since the Reapers know the militia is in the area, and likely Alpha Company."

Aria landed the Hornet in the middle of town, thankfully, there were currently no Reaper forces in the area this time. After dismounting from the Hornet, the female servine once more took to the skies, providing overwatch while Alpha Company, with Zinnia at their head, navigated through the city into areas of conflict. Friendly forces had managed to keep the heart of the city under control, but the Reaper forces, namely _Perditus_ , were pressing forward with surprising force from the outskirts, trying to pry their way towards its core.

As Alpha Company engaged _Perditus_ , forcing them back, they managed to see first hand at how effective Zinnia was in combat. It had been years since they had last seen her, and those who remembered her during their trips to the Regions almost a decade prior could recall how difficult she was to work with. Now, not only had she matured greatly and was taking care of herself, where she had once went about without doing so much as shaving, but she attacked swiftly and efficiently, moving not unlike a ninja as she ripped through the crowds of enemy forces.

Soon, they left the city perimeter, fighting their way out into the forests and swamps that encircled the city. Around them, _Perditus_ continued its onslaught, the raptors sticking close to the ground, sneaking their way through the grasses, heading towards Alpha Company. Piermont, taking on his normal form, joined the other dragons in engulfing the grasses and trees in flame, burning out the ambushing dinosaurs. An unusual roar sounded, and all eyes turned to the skies as a garchomp landed before them, engulfing the entire surrounding area in flame.

Zinnia ran up to the beast, petting it gently and commenting, "Thank you, Emma..."

"Wait..." Piermont began, "This is Emma?"

Zinnia nodded, continuing to pet the dragon.

"She's all grown up...I didn't recognize her..."

"It's been ten years," Zinnia smiled sadly.

"Look out," Aria called over the radio, and Alpha watched as her Hornet strafed around, blowing away everything around them with rockets and its continuously firing miniguns. All around Alpha Company, raptors launched out of the grasses, roaring as the Reaper creatures tried to pounce upon their prey, only to be shot out of the sky. Those that managed to successfully avoid the flurry of bullets to pin their targets to the ground were swiftly taken care of, usually by a stab to the throat. One managed to tackle Ruby and pin her to the ground, and while the dolphin struggled against the stronger beast, as it prepared to snap its mouth down over her throat, a gunshot sounded and a cloud of blood shot from the side of the assailant's head. Without a sound, it fell to the side, landing, deceased, on the ground. Zinnia swiftly helped Ruby to a stand before continuing to fire her Desert Eagle at any and all approaching _Perditus_ troops while Ruby covered the girl's blind spots with her powerful hydrokinesis. The dolphin surrounded herself in a protective bubble of water she summoned around her from the surrounding bogs, manipulating it into watery tentacles that she used to impale and rip apart her foes.

When the wave ceased, Ruby released her control and the water, a deep reddish brown with the blood of her casualties, collapsed with a splash onto the muddy road. "Follow me," Zinnia ordered, "We need to keep moving or we will be here all day."

Eventually, they reached a large, concrete building, hidden deep within the forest, even though much of the surrounding area was burned and charred beyond recognition by friendly shelling and defoliate strikes, the factory itself seemed unscathed, with the exception of a few char marks along its walls. Piermont and Jazz took cover to either side of the heavy steel blast door marking the factory's entrance, with the rest of Alpha Company surrounding it, all training their weapons towards the door.

Rapid quickly rigged up explosive breaching charges across the door before pulling back, readying his M240 to fire and passing off the detonator to Zinnia. "On the count of three, we blow..." Jazz called, "Ready?" and he silently counted down before exclaiming, "DO IT!"

There was a resounding thud that penetrated the eerily silent air, and when the smoke cleared, the rushed through the blown-in door, finding the initial area empty. The inside of the factory seemed rather low-tech and simple compared to what they expected out of a Reaper creation, and Zinnia said, "The Reapers converted a vehicle manufacturing plant into their _Perditus_ manufacturing lines..."

She led them through the small entrance room and into the massive, open factory beyond. Conveyors belts were scattered everywhere, and thousands of unmoving, seemingly dead raptors and pterodactyls were almost literally being pieced together, despite being fully organic creatures. Upon the body's completion, it was sent through what seemed to be a room full of pink, waist-high, fleshy egg sacks attached to the walls, ceiling, and floor. A thick mist hanged in the interior of the room, somehow giving the monstrosities life. The whole assembly room reeked of blood and decomposition, and the walls, floor, and ceiling were coated in the almost black, thickly consistent, oily blood that pumped through the veins of the Reapers' organic creations, so thickly coated that it dripped down like stringy syrup onto the world around them. "This is disgusting..." Piermont grimaced, watching as metallic skeletons were given cloned organs, muscles, arteries, veins, and other natural, anatomical components before the skin was roughly sewn onto the body.

"Oh my God..." Dash frowned, "This makes _Frankenstein_ look like Dr. Seuss..."

"Never thought you'd see the day where a living thing is created on an assembly line as if it was nothing more than a car, huh?" Zinna replied in a grim tone, nodding towards the room with the egg-like structures, "Those things emit nanobot spores that seem to be highly infectious and capable of converting anything that passes through it into...well...the Infected. Anyway, you see those red beacon lights going off everywhere? We tripped security, so expect a welcoming party any time soon."

As they sprinted across a catwalk heading out over the assembly lines below, Husks and _Perditus_ swarmed them in thick numbers, cluttering the narrow, wire mesh path. Jellied masses of unidentifiable, organic and fleshy residue coated various places around the path, providing slippery and dangerous conditions, forcing them to tread carefully. Although the raptors mostly leaped at them and attempted to pounce upon them, dodging most of the mess below, the Husks struggled to stay upright, sprinting at full speeds towards the intruders, arms and head flailing, only to slip and fall, sometimes to their deaths over the rails, on the piles of unknown, organic matter. Even the raptors seemed to lack intelligence, as many of them misjudged the distance and leaped to their deaths on the ground a hundred feet beneath the catwalk.

Finally, Alpha Company passed through the industrial curtains between rooms, exiting the assembly room into what appeared to have once been a hallway that connected various offices. "According to Intelligence we gathered from these machines, _M_ _è_ _re_ 's lab is on the bottom floor, we need to go down, through the hydroponics lab."

"Why would these things experiment on plants?" Ruby asked.

"Likely to test new, effective ways of taking you down. Maybe figuring out whether they can make plant monsters in addition to _Perditus_ , or testing various distribution methods of spores...who knows."

They finally reached a heavy steel door that descended onto the floor of the assembly room. A busted keypad, offline, was situated next to it, and Zinnia, catching her breath for a few seconds, rammed into the door, busting it open. The others of Alpha Company charged into the room beside her.

"Keep your eyes to the sky," Zinnia replied, "We may see these things drop down onto us, we're right beneath the conveyor belts."

They fought their way across the floor of the factory, tearing through enemy forces and into a claustrophobic passage snaking throughout the facility. This led them down a flight of stairs into the large, open hydroponics room, illuminated by black light. They could hear the roars and screeches of raptors down here, but found it difficult to see the dark-skinned creatures against the darkness of the room. They fought their way through this room as well, reaching the other end where they took another staircase up into another series of snaking corridors.

"We should be almost there," Zinnia replied, taking advantage of the break in waves, "Keep your guards up!"

They finally stopped at the end of the hall, right before a security door. Zinnia placed a silencing finger against her lips and shot out the card reader, slowly entering the room. The rest of Alpha Company spread out with her, finding the lab to be quite large. It was illuminated in a yellow hue, with rows and rows of tables containing various brewing stands and experiments. Lining the walls were what appeared to be cryogenic tubes, their interiors glowing green. At the far end of the room, a lifting platform connected the bottom floor with a small loft thirty feet above. The loft only seemed to lead to another security door that entered into a glass room overlooking the lab. The walls of the observation room were stained green and seemed to be one-way glass.

"Where's Aphrodite?" Jazz asked, looking around, and as soon as he said this, the cryogenic freezer-looking devices burst open. Raptors climbed out of the now open devices, eyes flashing with an eerie intelligence and sentience, their scales a deep gray with varying colored stripes, missing the veins of metallic flesh signaling Reaper control.

"Stop them!" a terrified, female voice spoke out, echoing throughout the chamber over an intercom system, and the creatures instantly turned to face the various members of Alpha Company, hissing and screeching as they charged forward.

"Jesus!" Piermont hissed, "Watch your asses!"

These specimens seemed to not only be much larger than the other _Perditus_ creatures they had fought up to here, but they also attacked more strategically and were much more resilient, able to take a large number of bullets and still keep moving, hardly fazed. Alpha Company danced with the attacking raptors around the laboratory, using whatever they could for cover against the creatures. One-by-one, the 'elite' raptors were brought down, and with a terrified gasp over the intercom, the wall at the back of the loft opened up, revealing a massive freezer-like device, much like what the raptors had busted from.

"What _now_!?" Jazz exclaimed.

"Stay away!" the voice called again, "Please! Leave me alone!" and in an instant, the glass exploded from the large tank. As an eerie green mist spread throughout the tall, fifty foot ceilings of the lab, a massive beast leaped from the loft onto the floor, and the familiar creature turned its maw to the ceiling, bellowing a deep roar.

" _TYRANNOSAURUS FUCKING REX_ 'S!?" Jazz exclaimed, "Are you _fucking_ kidding me!"

The colossal _T-rex_ stomped forward, snapping towards anything and everything in its path, scattering its attackers who fire relentlessly into the monster. Finally, they managed to bring down the behemoth, and with the lizard king grounded, Alpha moved towards the lift at the back of the room, taking it up to the loft and preparing to breach the security door.

With a firm nod from Zinnia, they blew through the door, charging into the room and taking aim with their weapons. At the center of the computer room, a small, four-foot tall creature, appearing like an anthropomorphic triceratops, gasped in terror. "S...stay away!" she exclaimed, holding our her paws in fright as she stepped back, "I'm warning you!"

Her scales were a dingy yellow in color and she wore an unbuttoned lab coat over her bare body, with horn-rimmed glasses. Her eyes were wide with horror, and she quickly spun around, racing out through another security door on the opposite end of the room.

"Aphrodite!" Piermont roared, "Stop! NOW!"

"Leave me be!" she cried, vanishing on the other side.

"Fucking..." Piermont hissed, charging forward and crashing through the glass wall around the door the creature had disappeared through, finding himself on another suspended catwalk the snaked throughout a darkened, labyrinthine series of halls. "Come back! God dammit!" he snarled, charging forward.

Alpha Company spread out, taking various paths in search of the escaped creature. Occasionally, they would run into more of those storage tanks, bursting open to reveal more of the elite raptors which were quickly dealt with. Finally, they reached a dead end, and Piermont grinned, spying Aphrodite running away from them, in clear view.

"I got her," Jazz replied, taking aim with his scoped M16 and firing once. The bullet tore through Aphrodite's foot and she crashed through a glass wall running along the left side of the hall.

"Move up!" Zinnia ordered.

They dropped down through the hole, finding themselves in a room full of mainframe computers. Blue carpet ran throughout the room, stained with drops of blood and shards of glass, the walls and ceiling were painted black, and the room was illuminated in a dim, blue hue.

"P...Please...d...don't shoot!" Aphrodite stammered from somewhere within. Jazz was the first to find her, his M16's mounted flashlight shining across her face. She held an arm up against the light, visibly trembling and breathing heavily. A strange sound, like running liquid, filled the air, and Jazz scanned around, watching as the carpet around her trembling legs slowly began to darken as she wet herself.

The rabbit grabbed her by the throat, lifting her off the ground and pinning her to the wall, "Gimme five good reasons why I shouldn't blow your brains out right now!" he hissed.

"Please! Don't shoot! I...I...I promise I can help! You'll see!"

"You created _Perditus_!?"

"Yes, but I..."

He roared, preparing to shoot.

"No! Please! Please! I...I swear! I didn't know what they would do! Please don't hurt me!"

"Jazz, stand down," Zinnia replied in a slow, steady voice, attempting to calm him. With a smirk, the rabbit dropped her to the ground again, and she curled into a ball, tears beginning to stream down her face.

"Bullshit..." Piermont growled, withdrawing his Desert Eagle. Rapid just barely managed to shove his arm to the side as he fired, the bullet blasting into one of the terminals instead of its intended target.

"God damn it!" the human-form dragon howled, "Let me kill her!"

"Pierre! Don't!" Rapid began, holding the human-form dragon's hands down firmly, "Stand down."

"Th...thank you..." Aphrodite began.

Zinnia approached her, skirting the wet spot to crouch down beside her, "You know who we are, don't you?" the girl asked in a calm tone.

The short, stocky, humanoid triceratops nodded vigorously, "Yes...you're Terminators, right? Please...promise me you killed every single one of those things out there!"

"You created _Perditus_ , correct?"

"Yes, yes, but I...I didn't know. I didn't know that they would do this I..." she viciously shook her head, "That big one, A...Ares, he s...said that I was special, that I had a very important job to do. He wanted me to create these dinosaurs to help his employers on their mission. I...I didn't know what they would do...what I was supposed to do..."

"What didn't you know?"

"I th...thought that it was just...oh I don't even know what I was thinking. I just...I didn't expect them to...to..."

"To what?"

"To kill those people. Those people weren't even dangerous, and those things, my children...my creations...they were ruthless...they killed those poor humans, murdered them in cold blood. Please, I beg of you. Forgive me and kill me. Put me out of my misery, don't make me suffer."

"With pleasure," Piermont smirked, preparing to fire again. Zinnia got between him and Aphrodite.

"No," she replied firmly, wrestling the gun from his hand. She turned to face Aphrodite once again, lifting and picking up the girl, "Let's get you somewhere safe."

Back in the lab's safe room, Aphrodite tapped away at her computers, displaying various news channels discussing the threat of _Perditus_ and showing, in graphic fashion, as the bloodthirsty creatures mauled, mangled, and feasted upon innocents.

While she did this, Ruby walked around the room, exploring. She stumbled an incubator in the corner, crouching down to look into the machine. Two eggs rested gently and comfortably within, sitting on a bed of straw. As she watched, one of them began to shake, tiny little cracks appearing throughout it, and she, astounded, watched intently.

"I had no idea what I was doing," Aphrodite admitted, "At least...until I watched the news. When I saw what my creations...my children...were doing, I was horrified. I didn't mean to make killing machines, and that horrifying realization really made me start to think for myself...I think..."

"How is this even possible?" Rapid asked, "Creating dinosaurs?"

"When the Reapers attacked these islands initially about six months ago, one of the men they claimed was, apparently, a museum curator. He kept a bunch of really neat artifacts, including fossilized amber retrieved from around here. When the Reapers claimed his life, they discovered these fossils and probably figured it would be effective against their only _real_ threat in this war, what they call the Harvest...you guys. Soon after, they collected triceratops DNA, fusing it with human DNA from one of their victims, as well as those machines' _own_ organic DNA to fill in the holes...thus birthing me. Harbinger, the Reaper commander, ordered his generals, Ares and Thanatos, to ensure I produced something that could challenge you. Thus we harvested the DNA of other, varying species of dinosaurs, using Reaper DNA to fill in the holes...although this had an unintended side effect. It made the creatures mindless, subservient only to the Reapers and nothing else, even Ares and Thanatos cannot control them.

"The most complete DNA we could harvest was _deinonychus_ and pterodactyl, thus why everything you see out there is a clone of specifically those two types of dinosaurs. Over time, I _did_ manage to gather enough DNA in order to bring some variety into the composition of _Perditus_ , such as that tyrannosaur you saw earlier...I had no intention of hurting anyone. After I saw what my children were doing...I had to act. I was terrified, paranoid they would hurt me, too. So I secretly began producing my own group of dinosaurs, established with high intelligence and full sentience, free of the Reapers' control. Instead of using Reaper DNA to fill in the holes, I used my own, and I injected steroids into the embryos to ensure they were superior to everything else. They were intended to be my bodyguards..." and she grinned shyly.

Ruby watched, spellbound, as the egg continued to break and shatter, until a single, golden eye glared out at her from the shell, widening at the sight of the dolphin. Instantly, Ruby felt an attachment and a motherly obligation to protect the creature. It managed to free itself at last from the shell, tumbling out from within and landing on the straw, on its belly, revealing a tiny, slick black, object, shaped like a scorpion's stinger, poking out from the base of its tail, curving sharply towards its head and running almost parallel to its body, appearing hard and solid. After several moments, the object quickly retreated into the slit at the base of its tail...so it was male. Righting himself, the baby raptor stumbled over to the edge of the tank, blinking and cocking his head at the observing creature. His scales were a deep gray, with a cobalt blue stripe running down across the back of his eye, and he chirped at her, almost looking like he was smiling. Ruby couldn't help but to grin, and both she and the animal were alarmed by the sound of cracking coming from the second egg in the tank. Instantly, the creature was at the other egg, pecking at it with his muzzle, attempting to assist his sibling's escape.

"Why did you attack us?" Jazz asked, "If you don't intend to be hostile?"

Aphrodite laughed nervously, "Well...you see...Ares and Thanatos don't trust me, especially since I started producing my guards. I thought they had sent you guys here to kill me, originally at least...so I sent them as a means of defense...I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"Please tell me that the thing we killed down there is the only T-Rex you have at your disposal?" Rapid pleaded.

"It is," Aphrodite reassured, "I was at the point where I was making a breakthrough with the cloning process...of course I tested it on myself first. If they _did_ attack me before I had a chance to protect myself, that T-Rex would at least give me the advantage against whatever the Reapers would throw at me. Out of a batch of thirty eggs, that one was the only one that survived."

"Eggs? You mean you don't piece them together?" Dash asked in shock.

Aphrodite rapidly shook her head, "Of course not! That was all the Reapers' decisions, they thought it took too long for the embryos to mature the normal way, even with the accelerated aging process. Anyway, if you guys aren't here to kill me...can you take me with you? If you protect me from those machines I...I promise I will do whatever I can to help. I will even destroy this factory and everything in it, just protect me!"

Upon the other egg's hatching, Ruby watched as the second baby tumbled out of its egg onto its belly, exposing an open cloaca at the base of its tail, identifying _this_ one as female. She whined and squeaked until her eyes fell upon Ruby. Then, the dolphin could have sworn she saw her smile. Within seconds, however, the female was distracted as her brother began to pick off the pieces of eggshell on her body with his mouth, the two then proceeding to clean each other. Where the male had a single, wide, blue stripe across his back, the second-born had bright red double stripes across her eye orbits and down her upper flank on either side of her body.

"Okay..." Aphrodite sighed after several console taps, "She's ready to blow on my command...I hope you guys know how we're going to escape. We'll be surrounded once the Reapers know what's going on..."

"We'll have our pilot land the Hornet nearby and enable us an escape."

"You know..." Aphrodite suddenly began, "There's a balcony at the other end of that hall you chased me down... it might be big enough for us to get away from..."

Zinnia nodded, "All right, I'll give Aria a call then..." and as she turned away, she stopped suddenly in her tracks, gasping, jaw dropped, "Ruby! What the _hell_ are you doing!?"

The dolphin was sitting on the ground, giggling as the two baby raptors jumped across her body before scampering onto her head, affectionately nuzzling her and chirping happily.

"They hatched already!?" Aphrodite exclaimed in a worried tone.

"Awesome job, Ruby," Piermont chuckled, withdrawing his pistol, now get outta the way so I can put them down."

"No!" Ruby exclaimed, quickly pulling the baby raptors off her head and extending a protective arm over them, "You're not hurting them!"

"Bullshit I'm not," Piermont smirked, "They're gonna grow up to be like those damned things we've been fighting. Let me get 'em now while they're still vulnerable!"

"Not...necessarily," Aphrodite spoke up, "If they impressed upon her, they will grow up aligned with what they see as their mother. I made sure that the batch they came from is free of Reaper DNA...they can't be controlled without it unless they become Infected."

"Piss off!" Piermont scowled, "I still don't trust you! Now, Ruby, put them on the ground and step away, or I'll shoot _you_ with them!"

Frowning, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, she gently placed the two babies on the floor, petting them. They both curled around each other, the male wrapping his thin tail across his sister, soon drifting off. Reluctantly, she stepped away, refusing to watch. Piermont stepped towards them, relieving the safety and preparing to shoot. For several seconds, he tentatively applied pressure on the trigger.

The female looked up towards him, chirping and smiling in his direction, cocking her head curiously to the side. With a low growl, he replaced the safety, holstering the pistol and storming outside the room, pausing in the doorway to say, "They make ONE FUCKING SLIP UP and they're dead, got it?"

With a squeak of elation, Ruby returned to the two, thanking Piermont as she gently scooped them up into her gloved fins and cradled them close to her belly. The two creatures adjusted themselves until they were comfortable, curling as close to her body as possible for warmth.

"All right, Aria will be here any minute," Zinnia began with a sigh, entering the room, "Let's get going..." and she nodded towards Ruby, "They're so cute..."

Ruby nodded, "Yes...I finally have children, I'm so excited!"

"Take care of them..." and Zinnia returned to Aphrodite's side, "You need help?"

The triceratops limped over to Zinna, wrapping her arms around the girl and allowing the young woman to pick the creature up.

"Aphrodite..." Ruby began, approaching them, "You said that these two have accelerated aging?"

The triceratops girl nodded, "Yes. They grow quickly, they can mature into adulthood in as little as six weeks...after that, their aging slows down to almost normal levels...though I'm not sure of their life expectancy, I never had a chance to test that out. Anyway, we should probably hurry before the Reapers arrive and things get even uglier."

They reached the balcony a few minutes later, finding Aria hovering just over the edge of it. One by one, the various members of Alpha Company hopped over the small gap into the machine, with Zinnia, carrying Aphrodite being one of the last to board. Only once everyone was in did Ruby, cradling the two sleeping infants close to her, hop into the machine, with Jazz closing it behind her and barking, "All righty Aria, let's go."

As the Hornet took off into the skies, Aphrodite, frowning unhappily, placed her head against the window of the machine, fiddling the detonator in her hand before finally depressing the trigger, looking away. The explosion was mostly muffled by the Hornet, drowned out by the roar of the turbine engines, but the shockwave was enough to create some mild turbulence for several seconds. Ruby laid down a bench by herself, curled around the two babies, petting the sleeping infants carefully, still tangled together.

"What's their names?" Rapid asked, nodding towards her.

Ruby smiled, gently touching the head of the male one, "I'm thinking his name will be..." she thought for several seconds, "Huh...can someone give me a name that radiates a kind of power?"

"Tiberius?" Aphrodite asked, shrugging. Ruby nodded vigorously, "Yes, I like it! I like it!"

"And the other?" Rapid asked.

Once more, Ruby fell silent, "I'll name her..." then after several seconds, "Athena."

"Tiberius and Athena?" Jazz chuckled, "What's gonna happen when Tiberius turns out to be a girl and Athena is a guy?"

"I'm positive of their sexes," Ruby nodded firmly, "When they hatched, I saw."

"The hell do you even _identify_ the sex of a dinosaur?"

"Same way you do every other reptilian species," Aphrodite began, "Like crocodiles, males conceal their permanently erect penises within their reproductive tracts, protected by genital sheathes on their lower bellies, only emerging for sexual stimulation. Females have all-purpose cloacae, through which they urinate, defecate, mate, and lay. They are oviparous, but it's not like it will matter much, all of my children were born sterile, since reproduction is unnecessary for the uses the Reapers have for them. They are not designed to reproduce and continue on as a species indefinitely."

"That's actually heartbreaking..." Dash frowned.

Aphrodite shrugged, "Once upon a time, they ruled the world as the dominant species before they were driven to extinction. As cynical as it sounds, they had their moment of glory, their time to shine. Although that has long since past. Once either the Reapers are finished with the Harvesting and they abandon them, leaving them to die due to their inability to take care of themselves, or the last of my children perish, they will be extinct once again."

"It just makes me want to take care of these two even more..." Ruby replied, gently nudging the two raptors.

Aphrodite nodded, "Do so...they deserve to be loved...no one deserves to be alone in the world, with no one caring about whether they live or die. When they impressed on you, it became your responsibility to show them love, care, and affection. They are your children and you are their mother...treat them as such."

Ruby nodded, "I will."

"Good," Aphrodite replied, and the Hornet fell silent all the way back to New Alexandria.


	12. Chapter XI: Severance

_**Chapter XI**_ **:**

 **-''Severance''**

 **-New Alexandria, Montana-**

 **- _06 June 2014_ -**

 **- _1832 Hours_ -**

Alpha Company sat around Suite 1 of Club Camelot in a dreary silence. Nobody could believe that Alex was gone...that after all the years of trouble and danger he had put up with in his life, that he was gone. Ruby was suffering the worse from his absence, she had been so traumatized by whatever had happened that she refused to speak, even when the others had tried to figure out what exactly had occurred after they fell into the ravine. The only sign that she was even still conscious was how she idly stroked one of her fins. She constantly stared off into nothingness, no one was able to interact with her. Dash, Piermont, and Cynder had all tried prying into her mind to figure out what was going on, and although she hadn't shut anyone out, her mind was blank, as if no thoughts at all went through her head. Sapphire was the most recent one to try and get through to her, but he failed as well.

Piermont suffered greatly as well, although he was at least responsive and still would eat and drink, he maintained an eerie silence, so out of character for him. Like Ruby, he, too, stared off blankly into space, although he would acknowledge someone's presence, even if it was just a brief glance towards them. Alex wasn't dead, of this they were certain, they could still feel him, although he was barely noticeable at the farthest reaches of the hauntingly vacant corridors of his mind, connecting him with the mutual mind bank. A very faint, phantom pain pulsated from him, reaffirming that he _was_ alive, since a corpse was incapable of feeling, but at the same time, he didn't even reach out to his comrades. They only assumed that it was too painful for him to tax his body and mind anymore than he had to in order to cling to whatever remained of his waning life.

Elliot had ordered the first wave of search parties out into the A.O.E, hoping to locate the missing Commander, but had so far turned up with nothing. What was more horrifying to them than finding his corpse, was being unable to find _any_ sign of Alex. No matter how hard they tried, they could not locate him, and without Ruby being willing to recall what all she had seen during the encounter, they would have to search the miles upon miles of ground in and around the canyon in order to find even a trace of his existence. The canyon itself was easily a few hundred feet deep, and much of their technology didn't work efficiently around it, likely due to an E.M.P cloud that the firing of the _Ring_ superweapon may have left over the effected area. Still, this didn't stop them from trying, as long as Alex continued to cling onto life, they would work as hard as they can, exhausting ever resource they could spare to search for him. Even if he did succumb to his injuries, they wouldn't stop searching until they found the corpse in order to confirm the kill. Following the Reapers' attack on New Alexandria, they had vanished off the radar, with no one knowing where they, or their mysterious leader, had gone, so Elliot was forced to choose whether to dump most of his assets into a search party for Alex, or to pick up the trail left by the Reapers.

Right now, Alpha Company sat around the dark and eerily silent Suite 1, saying nothing to each other, each grieving in silence at the events that had so recently transpired. Not much had been said at all since Alex had fallen, no one really had anything to talk about, and even those who did were hesitant to try and start a conversation. They all needed time to grieve, even if some members weren't as affected by Alex's fall as others. That wasn't to say that some members of Alpha Company could care less about Alex's absence, they all cared about him and worried about his safety, but some were more concerned than others. The senior members desperately struggled to retain a confident appearance, attempting to keep up morale with the lesser members, but found that they did not have much luck. Elliot had ordered Alpha Company to keep to themselves for awhile, at least until they could overcome his loss and figure out a way to explain it to the rest of the militia that the alpha mutant had fallen. This infuriated the members of Alpha Company the most, especially Spyro and Cynder, who were dumbfounded that Elliot would already write Alex off as slain when he was very much still alive, even if barely. It wasn't the first time that Alex had recovered from a near-death experience, ready to get back into the fight, and yet the old general _still_ chose to consider him as dead unless proven otherwise. _No_ one could understand why he would do this, and some rumors of possible corruption, power-grabbing, and personal profiting from the incident began to arise, only to be quickly dispelled by the High Command before they could grow out of hand.

Spyro and Cynder were both absolutely horrified that they could do nothing but watch as Alpha Company began to fall apart, unraveling at the seams. The fact that the collapse of the legendary mutant division of the Terminator Militia was happening so rapidly only served to make the experience more alarming. It was here that both dragons realized that Alex had served as the glue keeping this ragtag band of misfits together, and without him, the bonds forged in fire and blood that they had maintained began to shatter as, one-by-one, rivalries and opposing ideals began to clash, threatening to completely dissolve the diverse unit that had, until now, been kept together and nearly inseparable. Without him, it seemed that everyone's differing beliefs, orientations, alignments, and political ideologies were starting to forge a deadly rift in the unit. Although the division seemed rather light right now, both dragons knew that all it took was a wrong statement and being in the wrong place at the wrong time to completely undo the nearly invulnerable unit.

The saddest part was that no one, not a single member of the legendary Alpha Company, realized just how damning a weakness that Alex was to them. He had been the one to bring them all together, the one to _keep_ them together, and now it seemed that his absence would finally destroy what many had tried and failed to do in the many years since Alpha's founding. Spyro especially wasn't as concerned about the potential for Alex's death as he was that the Commander would return to find nothing there anymore. The dragon _knew_ how strong Alex was, as if the many close-calls they had throughout the years they had fought together weren't a testament to his strength and ability. He knew that Alex could very easily crawl out of this corner like he had done to all the others in the past, from the fountain massacre in Champaign, Illinois to the Siege of New York, the nuclear bombing of Phoenix to the Fall of Eden, not even taking into account all of the nasty encounters Alex had experienced before Spyro and Cynder had even joined Alpha Company at the dawn of the Second Civil War, since Alpha was already well-established even long before they arrived on scene. All he wanted was for Alex to make it back home, and he hoped and prayed that if and when Alex _did_ , he would still find Alpha Company intact.

As it turned out, his hopes and prayers were in vain. A week following Alex's fall, Alpha Company had awoken late in the night to the crippling, phantom pains of the passing of one of their own. Although they had experienced this a number of times in the past, most recently following Tails' sacrifice, this was by far the most painful. The feeling of being ripped apart was so strong that Spyro had actually been brought to tears, pleading for death to relieve him of the unbearable suffering. After what seemed like years, but realistically could have only been a minute at most, the pain quickly shrank into nothing, leaving behind an eerie, gaping emptiness within their minds, leaving them naked and exposed, an alien feeling they had never encountered before. From the haunted corridors of Alex's pained mind came complete and utter silence as his presence finally abandoned the telepathic chat room and he ceased to be felt.

Following that, Spyro had been unable to sleep again, and could do little but cradle his mate as she sobbed hysterically and uncontrollably, fighting tears himself. Upon the break of dawn, his first course of action was to check up on Ruby and Piermont, fearing that he would find them either missing or corpses. Thankfully, both were still around, Piermont in his room, Ruby out in the pool on the west balcony, but both were nearly catatonic and unresponsive to their respective mates. He had returned to Suite 1 from the pool, walking in to find everyone out and about, feuding bitterly with each other, with physical and elemental fights breaking out among several of them, including the exchange of threats for violence and death. It was here that the purple dragon realized, helpless to act, that Alpha Company was no more.

A week after Alpha Company collapsed in on itself, the disavowing was made official as, in a heavily covered and public announcement, the legendary mutant division ceased all control and command over the Terminator Militia to General Elliot, trying and failing to maintain a professional appearance before the eyes of the world. They had gone their separate ways a few days earlier, but had forced themselves to get together one final time for the official disbanding, desiring to lead the public to believe that they were all still in good relations with one another, temporarily stepping down to grieve in privacy. What had actually happened, however, was much worse. A colorful exchange of swears, barbed comments towards each other, and a physical fight between Piermont and Jazz illustrated the public announcement. It didn't take long following the official separation for the newly disavowed Alpha Company to run off to the winds, leaving their past lives and, in some cases, New Alexandria itself in the dust. They couldn't even be around each other for much longer than a few minutes before they were at each others throats, and Spyro and Cynder could only watch upon sadly as the last shard of hope for Alpha's reunion and reinstatement dwindled away into nothingness.

A month after Alpha Company's dissolution, Spyro and Cynder, trying to remain in the city, having taken Suite 1 solely for themselves and finding themselves unable to adjust to the suite's emptiness, finally decided that to remain in the city only served to constantly remind them of the past. As unwilling as they were, they both decided that it was best if they moved on with their lives, leaving New Alexandria behind, hoping to start fresh in a new place, a new home, with new friends. They first returned to the Realms, surprised to find that the Guardians were lamenting of their loss and _actually_ welcoming of their return. They were able to stay here for only a few weeks before, driven by the lack of privacy and the lust for combat coursing through their veins, they decided to leave once more. Eventually, they returned to Vermilion, finding Alex's brother, Nicholas, saddened to hear about their situation and recovering from his brother's loss. Upon expressing their problem, Nick extended an invitation for the duo to join his _own_ militia, known as the Revolution. After spending the weekend with his parents, Nick led them to his base, where they were instantly welcomed with open arms by the _Coup_ , his unit, synonymous with the Terminator Militia's Alpha Company. Like Alpha Company, the _Coup_ was composed of some of the same sort of supposedly fictional and 'child-friendly' characters, and they both felt at home once again, finally believing they had come to terms with Alex's death and Alpha's dissolution.

The first night they spent with the Revolution, they were given a private room, likely due to their relationship, and Spyro, looking out the window, asked his mate, "Wonder if we finally can settle down."

Cynder smiled sadly, sprawling out on her side upon their bed, her scarred belly facing him, "I don't see why not. It feels strangely homey here..." and she craned her neck to check up on their four children, sleeping in a little pile on the bed opposite of them.

He slowly nodded, looking out towards the stars, "I suppose so..."

"Come to bed, hon..." she said, nodding towards him, "It's nice and warm," and she winked in his direction.

Spyro chuckled, "C'mon, Cyn, we've been here for less than a day and already you're wanting to break in the new sheets?"

She clicked her tongue, wiggling her body seductively and beckoning him with her bladed tail, "It's been weeks since we managed to have any quality time together, just you and me, I can't stand it any longer, if I don't get some relief, my ovaries are going to explode."

Spyro genuinely laughed, quickly trying to choke it down to avoid waking their sleeping offspring. With a lighthearted and playful sigh, he said, "All right, all right...if you say so," finally climbing into bed beside her, squirming his way into her outstretched limbs and kissing her lightly on the mouth. She dove beneath the sheets then, rolling onto her belly and raising her rear into the air, beckoning him to mount. Upon doing so and sliding smoothly into her body, he nuzzled the bottom of her head affectionately, the female's burning hot body vibrating with her dragonian purring. Upon their silent, simultaneous climaxes, he remained connected to her, lowering himself onto her back and tangling his tail with hers, nuzzling her cheek and extending his wings over hers, his erection softening and sliding out of her genital slit before quickly withdrawing into the sheathe at the base of his tail.

They cuddled together, with Cynder purring against him before she finally asked, "I wonder how the others are doing...?"

"Don't worry about them," Spyro replied, "Here, we have a fresh start, a new life...we're free of New Alexandria, we're free of Alpha Company...we may still be soldiers, but at least we have a change of scenery. It's best if we just...if we forget our past and embrace our future here."

Cynder began, sounding sad and unsure, "Much easier said than done..." and she added, "You know...I loved Alex, too."

"Same," Spyro replied with a sigh, "But he's a lot better off than the rest of us here, I'm sure."

"I hope so..." she whined.

"Don't worry..." he kissed her light on the top of her head, "I'm sure he is...he's with Terrias now at least."

"I love you, Spyro."

"I love you, too."


	13. Chapter XII: Out of the Frying Pan

_**Chapter XII**_ **:**

 **-''Out of the Frying Pan''**

 **-New Alexandria, Montana-**

 **- _10 April 2015_ -**

 **- _1212 Hours_ -**

"All right! Listen up!" Jazz began, approaching the frightened Aphrodite, "If you're gonna be under our charge, you damn well better learn how to fight!"

"B-B-But I..."

"No ifs, ands, or buts! Got it?" he smirked, "You wanted to tag along with us? You better at _least_ learn how to defend yourself, 'cause the rest of us ain't gonna be there to pull your ass out of the fire if you find yourself there."

"I-I d-don't want to f-fight the R-Reapers! Have you l-lost your mind?"

Jazz planted a foot firmly on a barrel next to the triceratops, currently huddled on the ground, trembling in place. They were outside of the conference center in New Alexandria's military district. The angry chants and barks of drill sergeants mixed with the music of the practicing _nebelwerfer_ crews, providing the soundtrack to the temperate-weathered day. The sun was shining, there was not a cloud in the sky, and a faint breeze blew past them from the nearby river that completely encircled the island upon which the Terminator capital sat, the military district sitting upon the northernmost point of the island, directly adjacent to the river up north, Club Camelot and the residential district to the west, Anderson Airport to the east, and Town Center to the southwest, with parts of the southern business district to the south and southeast. "Listen up, maggot!" the rabbit hissed, "If you don't want to bite a bullet, you'll learn how to fight, _comprende_?"

Aphrodite, appearing on the verge of tears, nervously glanced at the rest of Alpha Company, standing around and relaxing, their eyes affixed to her, expressions blank and unreadable. Only Ruby was not attentive, the dolphin cow was a few yards away from the group, playing with the two baby raptors. "C-Come on guys...d-do I really have to do all this?"

All of them, sans Piermont who was staring blankly into the distance as usual, nodded slowly and grimly. "Sorry, Aphrodite," Rapid spoke up, "But, Jazz _is_ right. Our forces are stretched thin enough already taking on the machines, so you at _least_ need to be able to protect yourself if the situation crops up, which is always possible."

"C-Can't I train w-with _you_ then? You're so much nicer..."

Rapid shrugged, "Sorry, hon. Jazz may be an ass, but he's the best bipedal fighter we have in our little clique.

"Reverend don't fight," Jazz spat, "Unless he has to defend himself. Just 'cause we're gonna make a warrior out of you doesn't mean we'll stick you out behind enemy lines all by yourself to get tarred and feathered by those megalomaniacal squid. No, I'm gonna teach you how to protect yourself in the line of duty so you don't make the rest of us a crutch. A weak link breaks the chain, so _I'm_ gonna make sure that a little cloaca like you don't end up breaking us more than we already are."

"Hey guys..." they all turned to face Bleu approach them. The baby, marble-white dragon seemed nervous, "I'm sorry to interrupt you but...um...there's something that you gotta see..." and he nodded towards the command center, "Follow me, please."

Jazz viciously turned around menacingly to face Aphrodite, causing her to jump, "We'll have to continue this later..." before he turned and followed Bleu towards the doors into the command center, the others in tow.

Dash, the last one to follow, turned to face the triceratops, saying, "Well, one thing's for sure. You're definitely gonna need a _lot_ of work. Can't have you runnin' around being scared of your own shadow...you won't last five seconds on the battlefield in that regard..." she nodded towards the command center, "Now let's go, quickly, before he gets even _more_ pissed off. If Jazz scares you when he's in 'teacher' mode, you do _not_ want to see him pissed."

"Wh-Why?"

Dash smirked, "Well...he does have a body count of several thousand...soldiers and civilians alike. Plus, he kinda managed to actually _kill_ one of our _own_ guys a few years back...I'd _hate_ to have to burn _your_ corpse, too."

With this statement, Aphrodite was immediately on her feet, rushing towards the command center. Dash only chuckled to herself before casually flying along to the building, stopping briefly in place to turn back and face Ruby, still playing with the raptors, "Yo! Ruby! You coming along or gonna sit out here all day?"

Ruby stiffened at the pegasus' voice, instantly looking up to face her. The little raptors, growing quite fast and already nearly a fourth of Ruby's height, both looked up quickly to stare, wide-eyed, at the pegasus. Athena curiously cocked her head to the side, chirping, and Tiberius only grunted, hissing before looking down towards the ground to observe a spider crawling across the powdery, sandy road.

They entered the war room, clustered together, finding Zinnia conversing with Fox and Bleu. She briefly turned to smile towards them, her face light up at the sight of Aphrodite before she strolled over to them, asking, "Where've you been?"

"Watching Jazz train Aphrodite," Dash chuckled, "It's entertaining."

"They torturing you, girl?" Zinnia asked the humanoid triceratops.

She shrugged, "Jazz is a little scary..."

"Yeah, can't say I blame you..." she grinned, "Don't worry, I won't let the big bad rabbit hurt you."

Aphrodite smiled shyly towards the human girl and Jazz only scowled.

"What'd you want us here for?" Dash asked Bleu, walking to the front of the room.

"Um...well...uh..you see..." the baby dragon began shyly, stepping into the way of the projector before nervously stepping to the side upon realizing he was blocking the view, "Um...we've been...uh...tracking the Reapers' movements since they...eh...attacked Chicago awhile back and..."

"And...?" Jazz asked, "C'mon, kid. Spit it out already."

"Right, right...uh...sorry...ha..." Bleu quickly pulled up a map of Earth, zooming out until he had a view of the entire Milky Way Galaxy.

"Fancy..." Rapid chuckled, "These all pictures from the _Ring_?"

Bleu nodded, "Yes...its-its on-board cameras have amazing power...um...anyway..." he zoomed in on one end of the Milky Way spiral until they found themselves staring at an unusual structure floating in space.

"What the hell is that?" Spyro asked, curious, squinting his eyes to look.

"Never seen anything like _that_ before..." Cynder remarked.

"Probably because that this...object...has never _been_ there before..." Bleu added, showing another image that seemed to be of the same object. However, in _this_ one, dated two weeks prior, it was half-embedded inside a strange, white, swirling orb that appeared to be a wormhole or a white hole.

"What the...?" Spyro started, "The actual _hell_ are we looking at?"

"Genesis ports..." Jazz frowned, "Seems another universe is falling..."

Bleu nodded gravely, "This was taken a few weeks ago. Then last week we started noticing that the Reapers were flooding the area...seems that something there is interesting to them. We don't know what it is..."

"It looks like a..." Cynder squinted, "Is that a _head_!?"

Bleu shrugged, "We're not sure...but the _Ring has_ picked up signs of life in and around the area. We can only assume that it's this that's attracting those machines' attention."

"So what do you want _us_ to do?" Spyro asked.

"Well...perhaps you guys could go check it out? Maybe there's something there we can use against them."

"Yeah...and _how_ , exactly, do you plan on us _getting_ over there?" Jazz smirked, "It's literally across the fucking galaxy."

"The _Ring_ has been experimenting with spacecraft capable of FTL travel. It's still experimental, but I figure that we're at a point now where we need to take any and every chance we come across if we hope to take down these machines. At the pace they're moving, they'll have driven humanity to extinction within a year."

"Yet they're only attacking the United States?" Jazz asked.

Bleu shook his head, "No, they're always attacking something in the world...we've taxed Beta Company to the brink of collapse trying to keep up with these things. We've only risked to deploy Alpha Company to United States cities on Elliot's order before his...um...situation."

"How _is_ the old boy doing, anyway?" Rapid asked.

Fox spoke here, shrugging, "No better, no worse. He's stomaching through chemo...but all we're trying to do right now is keep his stress level down."

"Is he in the dark about the extent of the threat the Reapers pose?" Spyro asked.

"Well...um..."

Bleu interrupted, "We tell him as much as he absolutely _needs_ to know."

"When do you think he'll be able to take visitors?" Dash asked.

Both Bleu and Fox shrugged, "No one really knows," Fox replied, "But it's best if we keep him away from things for awhile."

"Back to the topic at hand," Bleu interrupted, "I've already contacted the _Ring_. I said that I'll try and send you guys over to them, so they're expecting you. I don't mean to inconvenience you, but Alpha Company is the strongest unit we have at our disposal...and we don't know what to expect on that object. If you can go check it out, it would be _greatly_ appreciated."

"Could it be their base of operations?" Spyro asked.

"I sure as hell hope it is," Piermont suddenly spoke in a low, cold voice, almost a guttural growl, breaking his eerie and persistent silence. All eyes turned to face him, the human-form dragon was sitting on a desk, hands hanging loosely between his thighs, wearing a homicidal grin, his soulless emerald eyes staring up at them from beneath his lowered eyebrows, "'Cause they're gonna regret ever fucking around with us. Especially wanna tear Ares limb from limb...make him suffer..." and he cackled a hoarse, corpse-like, gritty snicker.

Disturbed, Bleu suddenly interrupted, "Anyway...so...um...what do you guys say?"

Cynder shrugged, "We might as well, it's not like there's anything better to do," and her mate nodded in agreement.

"Excellent!" Bleu exclaimed, clapping his front paws together as he trotted around the table, "All I really ask is that you be careful, it's hard telling what to expect out there..."

"You won't need to worry about that," Spyro replied, "We got this."

"Good...good..." then Bleu nodded towards Ruby, gently petting the two raptors, sleeping, curled together in a ball, and Aphrodite, standing awkwardly next to Zinna, "What are you going to do with the new arrivals?"

"Thinking we'll leave them here," Cynder replied, "It's way too dangerous to take them with us."

"Bullshit," Jazz smirked, "Gotta get their baptism by fire at _some_ point, huh?"

"Yeah, but I'm with Cynder on this," Spyro replied, "I think all _three_ of them should sit this one out. We'll take Zinnia with us, seeing how she held against those infected...things...but I advise we leave our dinosaur friends here, at the very least so that the Reapers can't take control over them, if we _are_ in proximity to their base of operations. As sitting commander of the Terminator Militia, I exercise my rank to declare that all three of them are staying here."

"But..." Ruby frowned, "Then leave me here, too...at least so I can keep an eye on the raptors."

"No, Ruby," Dash replied, "You're the strongest son of a bitch here, you're _definitely_ coming with us."

"But...what about..."

"Don't worry, Ruby," Aphrodite smiled shyly, revealing buck teeth, "I c-created them...I can t-take care of them. I'll keep them safe until you return, o-okay?"

Ruby sighed reluctantly, a whistle in her voice, and she wore a pained expression, clearly unwilling to leave behind her adopted children. Eventually, after a soothing nudge from Sapphire, she complied, saying, "Fine...but please, make sure they are taken _good_ care of until we get back."

Aphrodite nodded, "Of course."

"Right..." Spyro nodded, "Guess it's time to get going, huh?"

"Let us know what you find..." Bleu added, "If you would kindly."

"Don't worry," and the purple dragon grinned, "We can do that for you."

The infant, technological prodigy nodded vigorously, "Much thanks."

Alpha's Company specially modified Hornet arrived at the _Ring_ 's docking station an hour later. There, they were greeted by several engineers, and after passing through the airlock and into the rest of the superstructure's interior, were escorted through one of the command centers of the station and into the hangar. There, they saw a number of varying sizes and designs of spacecraft, everything from maintenance and repair ships to fighters, to UAVs, to scouting ships and corvettes.

"All right," the _Ring_ captain serving as their escort began, stopping before a small corvette, "This baby is gonna carry you boys and girls to the anomaly."

"What's she got?" Dash asked.

"Well, as with all of those engines, the FTL drive is experimental, though it has an 85% success rate from our field tests in and around the system. In addition to that, it's got three heavy guns located on the bow, a cloaking system, an array of on-board autoturrets that _are_ capable of manual operation. She's one of the heaviest-armored 'vettes in our fleet, but she sure isn't slow. She won't hold up directly against a Reaper blast, but she's capable of outrunning and outmaneuvering those damn machines, plus, she can defend herself if needs be."

"How stealthy is she?" Piermont asked grimly, arms crossed.

"Well, she can cloak herself from physical view, making it difficult to see with the naked eye, and the ship was designed specifically to mask thermal radiation...unless of course you decide to let a sensor get directly behind her. Heat output on those engines is reduced as much as physically possible, but nothing's perfect. We heard from Command that you guys are gonna just do a passing run to scout that reading out?"

"That's the plan," Cynder replied, "Though if we have to engage, we won't hesitate to."

"Of course, which is why we picked this one out for you."

They were instructed on how to operate the craft and all its components before, with Aria in the cockpit, they were allowed to take off. They were fed the coordinates and other minor details through their communication link with the _Ring_ , and someone was always sure to remain on the other end of the line, ready to supply pointers and reminders about how to operate the ship, christened the _T.M.S King Solomon_.

Once Aria had gotten a feel for the craft and its movements, she activated the FTL drive, locking onto the coordinates of the anomaly that the _Ring_ 's cameras had identified. Despite the extreme speed and nearly blinding white light seeping in from the cockpit, the _King Solomon_ remained stable and smooth through it's journey, finally emerging out of hyperspace near their destination, far enough that they were outside any sensors the object may have, but close enough that they could easily see the station before them.

"What the hell am I looking at?" Dash asked, eyes wide.

The anomaly did, in fact, look like an ancient, petrified, severed head of some gigantic, possibly robotic being. It was the size of Planet Earth, maybe a little smaller, and was floating through the outermost reaches of the Milky Way Galaxy. Flotsam, jetsam, and asteroids surrounded the object, and Alpha Company watched in awe as an immense, blinding white wormhole, a genesis port, rotated idly nearby, occasionally depositing more debris around the object.

Aria activated the ship's cloaking system, killing the engines and gently floating towards the distant object. Occasional spaceships entered and left the station, flickering around into hyperspace around them. "Sensors are picking up signs of life..." Rapid, riding copilot, grimaced, "We're entering the range of some radio frequencies...trying to decipher the encryptions."

"I've got a _bad_ feeling about this..." Dash replied in an unsure tone.

Finally, Rapid managed to decipher the encrypted radio frequencies, randomly snapping between them, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. "These signals definitely aren't Reaper..." the skunk continued, "So they _may_ be friendly."

"Unless the Reapers decide to pull some kinda bullshit surprise on us," Jazz smirked, " _A la Peditus_."

After several minutes of trying to decide what to do, Aria, with a sigh and scowl, activated the engines and deactivated the cloak.

"What the _hell_ are you _doing_?" the rabbit protested.

"Gonna figure out what we're dealing with," Aria replied, "Sit tight, be ready for anything, we're going in."

She escorted the ship towards the neck of the station, entering the head's hollow interior after passing through an energy field that kept the vacuum of space from obliterating everything within. They were stunned to see that the head housed a bustling metropolis of bars, shops, docking stations, fueling stations, and even homes. Most of the various alien species wandering around the mined corridors of the station seemed to be traders or police. Though there _were_ some apparent civilians mingled in with the rest. A voice suddenly spoke over the radio, calling out the ship in an unknown language. Aria nervously responded her inability to understand, and after a brief, nearly deafening ring of feedback echoed through the _King Solomon's_ chambers, the voice returned again, this time speaking in terribly translated English, as if it had been run through a translator program. They were directed and ordered to dock at the Sigma Hangar, and the voice guided Aria to their destination. The female servine gently touched the ship down, watching through the cockpit's plasma window as several heavily armed, alien guards approached the ship's entrance, ordering the doors to be opened. With the confirmation that oxygen _was_ present in the station's artificial atmosphere, Aria finally opened the door, Alpha Company gathering around the entrance to greet the guards.

One of them, sharing the same voice that had spoke to them over the radio link, grumbled at them in an unknown language, which Dash responded with, "We have no idea what you guys are saying...we don't speak whatever language that is..."

With a grunt, the guard barked something to one of his companions, who then left. After several minutes, the creature returned, holding a burlap bag. It handed each member of Alpha Company an earpiece, specifically designed to support the anatomy of each member's specific species, and Aria had to wonder just how many different types of species and anatomies these guards dealt with on a frequent basis.

"Can you understand us now?" the guard asked in perfect English, which the members of Alpha Company responded to with a firm nod.

"Excellent," he replied, "All of you, follow me."

They were led through the claustrophobic, overpopulated corridors of the station, heading towards somewhere unknown, likely a Customs office of some kind. "Where are we?" Dash asked.

"Knowhere," the guard replied, "A hub of trade and business for the entire Outer Rim. I find it strange that you just happened upon our little corner of hell."

"Well...we've picked up some suspicious activity, figured we'd investigate."

The guard smirked, "Considering we're the pirate and mercenary capital of the galaxy, it's really no surprise."

"Well...it's more than that..." Dash replied, "Are you familiar with the Reaper Armada?"

"No, I've never heard of that," he replied, sounding suspicious, "Who are they?"

"A race of gargantuan, organic, and sentient machines with a taste for blood. They've been working to eradicate all sentient species in the galaxy, and we have reason to believe they're eyeing this place."

He chuckled darkly, "Ah, they won't get very far, we are the most secure and fortified place in the galaxy."

"Yeah? Cept these things have nearly impenetrable overshields, have nearly impenetrable armor, and can literally decimate this entire sector in the literal blink of an eye with plasma cannons that fire these continuous, superheated beams. It took an entire army and power that's a thousand times that of their cannons in order to take down just _one_ of those machines, and there are thousands."

"What do they look like?"

"You can't miss 'em," Jazz replied, "They look like giant squid."

"What is squid?"

The rabbit sighed, "Nevermind."

"Where do you come from?"

"Earth, in the Sol system," Rapid replied.

"Never heard of it."

"Yo! Quill! Would you gimme a hand over here?" an angry voice spat from inside of the engine compartment of a ship docked in Epsilon Hangar.

"What do you want?" the man, Quill, replied, returning to the spot where his ship, the _Milano_ , had landed, taking a bite out of a sandwich.

The first voice peeked out from the engine compartment, revealing a bipedal raccoon, stained with oil, scowling towards the human approaching him, "The hell do you think? Tryin' to fix the friggin' warp drive remember?"

"C'mon Rocket, don't need to be such a dick."

"Hey! Screw you, man! I'm fixing _your_ damn ship!" and the raccoon returned to work, beckoning a tall, anthropomorphic tree-like alien, his best friend, to hand him more tools.

"So...I'm hearing that we got some fellow Earthlings here."

Rocket immediately shot up, swearing as he smacked his head against the engine. Rubbing the bump, he turned to face Quill, leaning arrogantly against a charging pylon. He was of average height, thin but muscular, with short, brown hair, a brown goatee, and prideful, youthful brown eyes. He wore a maroon bomber jacket over a white t-shirt with faded blue jeans and black shoes

"Hell you talkin' bout, Quill?" and Rocket jumped out of the ship, strolling over to him, popping his muscles, "Where?"

"Heard from one of the Nova Corpsmen that they docked at Omega, bunch of talking, furry animals, you'd feel right at home. Keep talking about these 'Reaper' things that are thinking about attacking this place or something, I don't know."

Rocket visibly stiffened, "Oh _shit_!"

"What's wrong?" Quill asked.

"Reapers? You remember those giant squid that dogged us out here? They're the ones that shot up the drive?"

"Yeah, we couldn't do jack squat to hurt them."

" _THOSE_ were Reapers! Now, what _I_ wanna know, is how and why these guys _know_ about these things comin' here," and wiping his small paws off on a towel, he stormed towards the exit into the rest of the station, grabbing his laser pistol resting inside his toolbox, "C'mon, Groot!" he roared to the tree-like alien, who, with a nod, strolled towards him.

"Hey! Where you going?" Quill asked, jogging to catch up.

"We're going on a little walk," Rocket replied, grimacing.

Alpha Company finally arrived at their destination, a cluster of offices, a few minutes later. There, they were forced to sit awkwardly in the reception area, waiting to be called to the desk. Several more guardsman had joined them, sitting around, all eyes on them, making the wait that much more stressful. Finally, after what seemed like ages, they were called in by another guard. The ones that had escorted Alpha Company to the office initially approached them, surrounding them and shepherding them to the desk where the guard that had called them, appearing bored, asked, "What can we do for you today?"

"They arrived a little while ago in an ancient, non-registered ship. They claim to be from Planet Earth in the Sol system...I wasn't familiar with it."

"Listen to me," Cynder began impatiently, "There are these genocidal machines known as the Reapers, they've been spying on this place and we have good reason to believe they're considering attacking it. We came here to warn you of the attack."

The guard at the counter sighed, "You are the third group today to speak of these Reapers, yet our patrols have found nothing matching these alleged machines' presence in any of the surrounding sectors."

" _Third_ group?" Dash asked, "Surely you gotta believe it then!"

"First group was a nomadic band of traders, second group was a band of troublemakers, and now you, some randoms from a distant planet still living in the past. Well, allow me to tell you what I told the others, if there _is_ any truth to these tales I've been hearing, they stand no match against our defenses."

"Till they come down here and fuck you up!" Jazz hissed, "We've dealt with these things before, we _know_ what we're talking about!"

"Yeah? So did the other groups. Now, where are your interspacial passports? Can I see them please."

"Passports? _What_ passports?"

The receptionist sighed again, "If you don't have a passport, you will have to purchase a temporary one, that will be two thousand credits."

"But we..." Aria began to protest, shortly before they were interrupted by a group of heavily armed guards rushing into the room.

"Unknown bogies approaching our sector, we are unable to establish contact, sir!"

"They're here!" Ruby exclaimed in a worried tone, and no one had even a chance to respond before something caused the entire station to shake and tremble powerfully. Alarms went off around the area, and exchanging glances, Alpha Company broke out of the guards' grasp, rushing outside, the protesting guards in tail. Upon emerging back onto the catwalk leading around the third floor perimeter of the station's main area, they watched as a single Reaper, flanked by three dropships, passed through the forcefield and trumpeted it's booming cry. The bystanders scattered, crying out in alarm and fleeing to safety while the Reaper landed in the center of the main room, trumpeting again before proceeding to charge its cannon and sweep across the floor. Instantly, all weapons were upon the machine, with innumerable plasma turrets mounted throughout the room directing their fire on the machine, the rounds effortlessly bouncing off the Reaper's overshields. It fired again, this time sweeping across the catwalk nearby. Heat and a powerful wind surged off of the blast, shattering glass in every window on the floor and sending almost everyone to the ground.

Alpha Company immediately split apart, fleeing in every direction, searching for cover and weapons to repel the attacking machine. Ruby, now alone, continued down the catwalk, dodging the chaotic crossfire from the defenders in the confusion. The dropships slowed to a hover near the catwalks encircling the main room, depositing various infected aliens. The Reaper fired towards her again, causing her to cry out in terror and fall back, the particle beam narrowly missing her and engulfing the entire area in flames. Suddenly realizing that she was completely unarmored, she looked around, her eyes finally spying a slain guard wearing a suit of power armor. She hurriedly raced over to him, quickly putting on the highly advanced and incredibly futuristic suit of armor, which not only repaired itself but managed to contort and warp to fit around her unusual, delphinic form. As infected charged towards her, she hurriedly looked around, searching for a means to defend herself, and when her eyes fell upon tanks of an unknown liquid, she utilized her hydrokinesis to manipulate the fluid element within the liquid, drowning the charging infected in the syrupy concoction. She manipulated the liquid to surround her in tentacles, using them to stab, impale, and squeeze her assailants to death, but the infected kept on coming as the Reaper forces infected more of the crowded populace than could be killed, and soon, she not only found herself overwhelmed, but found herself cornered by the infected. She held them off as best as she could, but one managed to break through her defensive line, tackling her to the ground and snapping towards her head and throat. She cried out for help, struggling to fight off the creature, but just as she believed she was finished, an unusual sound rang through the air and a red laser beam ripped through the side of the creature's head, exiting out of the other side. It collapsed onto the dolphin, and she, disgusted and horrified, quickly threw the corpse off, backing away as the infected closed in. One by one, they all went down in a similar manner to the one that had tackled her, and with a powerful voice crying, " _I AM GROOT!_ " an earthy limb impaled a line of infected, effortlessly bashing them against the floor and ceiling.

A dark gray blur sped around her, slicing through a cluster of distracted infected, and as they fell to the ground in pieces, a raccoon turned to face her, saying, "Come with me if you want to live!"

"Damn you, Rocket! That was _my_ line!" a male's voice exclaimed, and Ruby, now confused, turned to spy an adult human stumble forward, cleanly and effortlessly shooting two charging infected in the head with his dual laser blasters.

"We need to get you out of here," Rocket continued, addressing Ruby, "Come with us, I'll get you to safety!"

"I need to find the others!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Others? There's more?"

The dolphin nodded abruptly, "Yes, my entire unit! W-we split up back there...I need to go find them."

With a sigh, Rocket popped his neck, stretching and saying, "All right, then. Quill, lead the way."

"Oh, _now_ you let me play hero!"

"Just shut up and go!"

Jazz and Dash found themselves seeking cover beside the same guard who had escorted them from the hangar to the reception lobby, trying to hide from the machine while figuring out a way to stop it. "What in the hell _is_ that?" he asked.

" _Those_ are what we tried to warn you about!" Dash growled, "And _you_ decided not to listen!"

"How do we kill it? Our guns aren't even hurting it!"

" _Exactly_!" Jazz emphasized, "These things are hard as fuck to kill. You gotta take down their overshields, then find a way to penetrate that armor of theirs. It literally took an entire army, an entire division of dragonriders, _and_ a plasma cannon that's a thousand times as strong as those machines to kill just _one_. Be glad we're _only_ dealing with one and not multiples, else we'd be fucked, to put it kindly!"

"We need to regroup with the others," Dash replied anxiously, "We stand no chance alone..." and she peeked out, "God I hope they're all right."

"The Reaper is too distracted with the civvies to worry too much about them, I'd think," Jazz scowled, " _I'd_ be more worried about the Infected with 'em...those sure as hell ain't human...who knows what they're capable of."

"I know a way into the control tower, through the caves," the guard suddenly said, "It's not much, but the control tower is the most secure place in the facility...and there's no way that machine can clear the caves by itself."

"Yeah, that's why they got the Infected, to get into all the dirty little corners the sons of bitches can't reach themselves!" Jazz spat.

"Follow me," the guard replied, "Stay low and stick to cover, it can't kill what it can't see...or does it have radar?"

"Not that we're aware of," Dash replied.

"Then follow me," and the guard fell back, nearly crawling across the floor behind the solid, steel barrier between them and the machine, still sitting in the center of the room.

Quill led his group and Ruby through the second floor walkway, heading towards the caves leading up to the third floor. The dolphin took care of as many Infected between them and safety as she could with her hydrokinetic tentacles while Rocket, Quill, and Groot cleaned up what she couldn't claim. As they fought together, Rocket attempted to make conversation with the dolphin, asking, "So what's your name?"

"Ruby..." she replied, continuing her onslaught of attacks, "I'm a dolphin, part of Alpha Company."

"Name's Rocket," the raccoon replied with a grim smirk, "Part of...hell I don't know," he then asked, "Nice armor, where'd you get it?"

Ruby shrugged, continuing her attack.

"Sheesh, you're no fun."

"Uh...Rocket," Quill interrupted, "Think we have more important things to worry about than satisfying your fetish for tech."

"Huh? I don't know what you're talking about," the raccoon chuckled, "Just trying to make some small talk with this nice girl over here," and after killing another group of Infected, "So...you're from Earth, huh?"

She only nodded, diving away from a charging Infected.

"Nice, so is my buddy Quill here."

"Now's not the time, Rocket!" Quill exclaimed.

"All right! All right! I give, I give..."

As they fought throughout the city, they ran into the rest of the splintered Alpha Company, gathered together in clusters. Only once they had been reunited with Dash and Jazz, with their escort in tail, did the completed Alpha Company then concentrated on trying to decide how to take down the Reaper, which had slaughtered countless civilians and almost all of the defenders. As they neared the powered door leading into the control tower, set into the side of the cave they were in, an Infected appeared behind them, tackling the guard that had come with them. The man was dead and nearly mangled beyond recognition before Rocket killed the creature with a clean headshot.

With a scowl, glancing at the keypad by the safe room door, Rocket spat, "I can hack this but...it'll take a bit, watch my ass!"

While Alpha Company and his two companions concentrated on taking out the Infected rushing towards them, Rocket worked on hacking the panel until, with a satisfied chuckle, it slid open with a pneumatic hiss and the raccoon ushered everyone inside, closing and sealing the door behind them. Infected were now upon the door, and the huddled group inside could hear their snarls and animalian screams.

"Watch the door!" Rocket snapped, running over to a control panel at the base of a wall-wide window that overlooked the entire room.

"What are you doing _now_?" Quill protested.

Rocket chuckled, "These are the controls for the tractor beam, if I can reroute the station's main power to the core, and make a few minor adjustments, I can blow that giant squid to pieces with its prissy little cannon's _much_ bigger brother. Gimme a minute!"

The Reaper trumpeted outside, firing towards the catwalk on the floor directly beneath them, "Rocket, you might wanna hurry..." Quill began nervously.

"Hold on! I'm working on it for cryin' out loud! Seriously, just give me like sixty friggin' seconds!" then, "Aha! It's showtime!" and the raccoon placed one paw upon the switch used to control the strength of the tractor beam, currently on standby. "You guys ready?" he smirked at the others, "Get a load of _this_!" he slammed the switched to max. The generator powering the tractor beam whined unnaturally, the lights and terminals flickered throughout the facility, and just as the Reaper turned its attention to the control tower, a powerful red beam of pure energy fired out of the generator with an earsplitting whine, ripping through the Reaper. It's overshields flickered out almost instantly, and they all watched, dumbfounded, save for Rocket, wearing a victorious grin, as large pieces of the machine's armor were blown off of its hull, exposing parts of its interior.

There was a sudden, almost deafening pop, the sound of shattering glass, an the world suddenly went dark as the power killed off. Rocket's grin instantly diminished into a frown as he frantically tried to get the makeshift cannon back online.

"Rocket! What's happening?" Quill protested, looking around.

"What did you do!?" Dash exclaimed in alarm.

"Shit!" Rocket hissed, "I blew out every friggin' wire in the station, that's what happened...only the life support systems and the forcefield generator are still online."

"Guys..." Cynder began nervously, "Look at the Reaper..."

They all looked up to face the machine, genuinely horrified by what they saw. Almost the entire creature's exoskeleton had been peeled away, revealing an orange, fleshy mass vaguely in the shape of some ancient, unknown species attached to the exoskeleton's warped and mangled supports. The mass was very much alive, and although bound and imprisoned to the Reaper skeleton, it seemed to be in full control of the machine's movements. With an ear-piercing, high-pitched screech, it continued forward attempting to fire the mangled, melted cannon. The surviving guards down below continued firing towards the mass, now bleeding bright, neon orange blood.

" _HOW IS IT STILL ALIVE!?_ " Spyro exclaimed.

"Hmm..." Sapphire frowned, "So _that's_ what lies at the center of these...things..."

"Look though..." and Dash nodded towards it, "Now we got the shell off...it's vulnerable..." she turned to Rocket, "Is there any way you can get the power back online? At least long enough to finish it off for good?"

Rocket shook his head, "No go, the electrical systems are fried...but I'm trying to think of something else...gimme a moment..." then, after several seconds, "That's it!"

"What's it?" Rapid asked.

The raccoon chuckled grimly, "It's alive right? It's a living thing?"

"Yeah."

"Living things can be killed in the vacuum of space...no matter how hard they try to be artificial. If I power down that forcefield, it'll suck up that nasty son of a bitch right into the void."

"No!" Quill exclaimed, "If you shut down that forcefield, everyone down there will die!"

"We have no choice!" Rocket hissed, turning to face the human, "They're already dead anyway! It doesn't matter what we do!" and he turned his attention back at the terminal, "It'll be a temporary shutdown, just long enough to kill that...thing...and his buddies. Though it's hard telling if there are anymore out there waiting...we'll need to get out of here when we get the chance."

"Yeah? But my warp drive is still busted!" Quill protested.

"Our ship is docked in Omega Hangar," Aria suddenly said, "It's big enough, we might be able to fit yours in the cargo hold...its warp drive still works."

"Sounds good to me..." Rocket sighed, then, after several more console taps, he reluctantly placed a finger on a button, "Say hell to the world's biggest vacuum cleaner..." and he depressed the button. The forcefield between the main room and space flickered several times before dissipating, instantly causing everything inside the station to be sucked up into space, including pieces of the structure itself. The remains of the Reaper screeched, its voice drowned in the vacuum as it was swept off its feet, catching briefly on the slightly raised floor in the heart of the room before being thrown out into space. Once the creature was nothing more than a distant speck, Rocket restored the forcefield with a sigh, and the world fell eerily silent. "We did what we had to do, Quill..." he suddenly said, voice saddened, "There was no other way."

The moment of silence was shattered by a powerful knocking on the door and a strong voice ordering, "This is the Nova Corps! Open up!"

"Oh crap!" Rocket whispered, scurrying away. Quill was immediately on his feet, throwing open the door to a nearby maintenance closet and slipping inside with Groot and Rocket. As soon as they had closed the door, the blast door slid open and heavily armed and armored men swarmed into the room, forcefully cornering and binding the members of Alpha Company.

"You are all under arrest!" the guard who they had argued with at the reception desk hissed, strolling into the room.

Jazz turned to face Dash, sighing, "Fuck me..."


	14. Chapter XIII: Welcome to the Machine

_**Chapter XIII**_ **:**

 **-''Welcome to the Machine''**

 **-Above Caribbean Islands, Caribbean Sea-**

 **- _12 April 2015_ -**

 **- _0718 Hours_ -**

 _This isn't who you are! You are better than this! Stop this at once!_

 _Do not listen to this small, infantile creature, you must carry on our glory, the glory of the Reapers!_

 _Don't let them control you like this! You can beat it!_

 _He has already submitted to us, he cannot fight us, nor does he want to. Here, we all belong...here, we are_ all _one!_

"Thanatos!" Ares hissed, "We have received new orders from Harbinger!"

"What is our mission, Ares?" Thanatos replied with a mechanical chuckle.

"A human settlement, known as Ozark Island. They are working to develop weapons to use against us. We are to destroy it at once."

"Yes, Ares. Where shall I go?"

"Take the chaingun on our starboard hull, shoot at anything that moves."

"Yes, Ares."

Thanatos, ignoring the dueling voices inside of his head, shoved aside the Husks standing around, awaiting deployment, taking his position on the gun. _You know your mission!_ Harbinger spoke telepathically to him, _Exterminate all that moves in this human fortification, prove to these fleshy children of Adam that they cannot resist us!_

"Fire when ready!" Ares ordered, and as the island appeared on the brightening horizon, Thanatos commenced fire upon both Ozark Island and the bridge connecting it to another island, known as Martaan.

 _Destroy the winged demons before they can intercept us!_ Harbinger ordered, and Thanatos instantly concentrated fire on the approaching wings of dragonriders and defending dragons, effortlessly shooting them out of the sky.

"Deploying _Perditus_ on the island called Martaan," Ares droned on behind him, "Exterminate all life forms present. Sending an Infected horde to collect prisoners to join us in our mission! Thanatos, ready yourself, we will personally oversee the fall of this minute fortification!"

"Yes, Ares."

Harbinger suddenly spoke again, _The humans are arming weapons to fire upon our fleet, do not let them succeed! We are already deploying Trojan ships to crash and infect the populace!_

"Harbinger," Ares suddenly began in his mechanical, layered, and monotonous voice, "The dragons are overpowering our ships, requesting additional support!"

 _Affirmative, Ares_ , Harbinger telepathically responded almost instantaneously, _Sending seven vanguards to provide aide._

Immediately, the dark sky was filled with several immense, electric blue spheres, depositing seven massive Reapers into the smoky skies above Martaan and Ozark Island. The world filled with the sounds of the machines' futuristic weapons and the chilling trumpets of the Reaper ships themselves mixing with the pained death roars of dragons, the supercarrier upon which Ares and Thanatos were stationed began to lower to the ground in the heart of one of Martaan's clearing, depositing a large group of Husks and several Indoctrinated to command them. Ares and Thanatos also disembarked here, joining into the fray by cleanly decimating the welcoming party. Ares strolled along, heading towards the suspension bridge leading to Ozark Island, effortlessly dodging his assailants and swiftly cutting them down with his vibrating, high-frequency blade, occasionally resorting to powerful terrakinesis to neutralize his foes. Thanatos sprinted along the trail, flipping around to dodge his own attackers and taking them down with his throwing knives, mixing this with his rapid pyrokinetic abilities to support him. They smoothly ripped through the forces between them and Ozark Island, navigating the burning forests with their omnipresent knowledge of location, thanks to Harbinger's influence over their minds and bodies.

Although the dragons were overwhelmed by the Reaper ships, thoroughly distracted by them, the beasts were making surprising progress against the machines, prompting Ares to call in more support over the shared, open, telepathic hivemind upon which the machines operated upon. Within seconds, a dozen more Reaper ships arrived on scene from teleportation spheres in the skies, soon joined by the largest ship in the entire armada, twice the size of the other Reaper ships, and three times as armed, Harbinger, the Reaper commander, itself. With Harbinger now in the fight, it ripped through the defending Beta Company, soon driving them back to Martaan.

 _Keep advancing,_ the Reaper commander ordered over the hivemind in its powerful, deep, mechanical and monotonous voice, _Take this fortress from the humans._

Soon, the Reaper forces reached the bridge, Ares and Thanatos being among the first to arrive. The two stood side-by-side, observing as more Reaper ships arrived on scene to aide in the assault. Harbinger itself landed on the surface of the bridge, booming its deafening, three-toned trumpet. The Reaper commander led its forces across the length of the suspension bridge, picking attacking dragons and Terminator aircraft out of the sky with incredible ease.

 _The Trojan ships have arrived, hold here_ , it warned, and the Reaper forces remained in the center of the bridge as several more teleportation spheres opened up in the skies, depositing burning ships falling to the ground. From these crashing aircraft, an eerie, unnatural, light green, almost gray dust spewed out from holes in their hulls. One by one, they crashed into the mountain which Ozark Island's narrow beach surrounded, leaving trails of that dust which began to spread and settle throughout the island. _Move forth_ , Harbinger commanded, _The humans shall see our glory or perish in our shadow!_

Ares and Thanatos led a squadron of Husks into the caves snaking throughout the mountain upon which Fort Ozark lay once Harbinger decimated the blast door between them and the caverns. Upon entering, they were greeted with the screams of the defending soldiers as they succumbed to the infection spores from the Trojan ships or were ripped to shreds by other Infected. The Husks in the duo's party chattered among themselves in their digital clicks, charging forward towards anyone who was not connected to the hivemind.

Raptors from _Perditus_ soon joined the scene, working to protect the Reaper forces from the defending Terminator soldiers. They communicated with Indoctrinated and even Infected forces, exchanging known locations for pockets of resistance, seeking help to clear them out. The labyrinth of tunnels were eerily silent, with most of the defending soldiers either dead, having closed themselves off for protection, or distracted elsewhere. The only music accompanying the battle were the roaring of fires raging throughout the caverns, the digital, incomprehensible chattering of the Reaper forces, and the occasional rumble of the earth as the mountain threatened to collapse upon them. Outside, Harbinger would occasionally bellow its trumpet, usually joined by one or more of the other machines, communicating with the ships.

"Stay back!" a hoarse voice screamed, attracting Thanatos' attention. A wounded Terminator soldier, laying on the ground and pedaling away, blood running from the stub of a severed arm, fired the clip in his Desert Eagle towards them, "I'm warning you! Get back! Stay away you fucking creeps!"

Ares pushed through the crowd to stand beside Thanatos, and extending one of his arms, swiped it in a downward motion. From the ceiling, a pillar of stone broke through, slamming down upon and crushing the screaming soldier beneath. A pool of red quickly gathering around the base of the rock, obscuring the body from view, Ares marched on, ordering, "Thanatos, kill anything that refuses to submit to us!"

"Yes, Ares," the creature responded, following at the tail of the squad. At a T-intersection up ahead, a small group of Terminator soldiers fled down the corridor before they were pounced upon and devoured by two _Perditus_ raptors. Rounding the corner, they were met with a Terminator M240 nest firing towards the Husks charging at it. Three raptors tailing the group behind Thanatos pushed forward, screeching as they charged towards the nest. Two were brought down before the third tackled and disemboweled the gunner.

"We are nearing the human fortress," Ares began, "Prepare to engage. Thanatos, come forth."

The crowd of Husks, _Perditus_ , and Indoctrinated parted to allow the other Reaper general forward. The two stood before a sealed blast door. Thanatos placed his hands upon the steel of the door, the area around the point of contact soon glowing a heated orange. Alarms sounded throughout the tunnel before, with a mechanical screech, they abruptly cut out. With the door's structure weakened, Ares stepped forward, and ignoring the heated metal, drove his fists through the groove between the two doors, prying them open and effortlessly busting them down, stepping aside to allow the Husks and raptors to charge forward into Fort Ozark. The skies above flickered white with teleportation spheres as more carriers and Reaper ships arrived on scene to begin the assault on the main fortress. Nearby, newly Infected soldiers raced away from the site of a crashed Trojan ship, tackling their former allies. The dust carrying the infection spores clung to the air, rendering visibility to nearly zero, although the Reaper forces, thanks to the shared connection with the hivemind, had near-omnipresent levels of situational awareness and understanding.

Here, Thanatos and Ares parted ways, each leading a half of their remaining squad to take on differing sectors of the fortress. Resistance was heavy from the Terminator defenders, but they stood no match against the mass attacking Infected, controlled directly by the Indoctrinated, who were thus controlled by the Reaper ships, who were commanded by Harbinger. With the first, largest, and most powerful Reaper leading the fleet, there was no chance of victory for the Terminator soldiers struggling to hold onto the decrepit and mostly forgotten Fort Ozark. While the mindless Infected, the most numerous party in the invasion force, impulsively followed the telepathic commands of their Indoctrinated commanders, directly controlling the Infected hivemind, the brainwashed Indoctrinated themselves communicated freely with each other, evenly dividing themselves out as necessary, occasionally being fed special objectives or orders by the Reaper ships who _also_ operated individually, and were perhaps the most self-aware unit in the armada, but at the command of Harbinger.

 _Perditus_ , like the Infected, operated mostly, impulsively on a hivemind, directly controlled by the Reaper ships themselves instead of telepathic, Indoctrinated lieutenants, like the Infected were. However, they also contained a shred of sentience and individuality, something the Infected lacked, and were able to communicate somewhat freely with each other and other factions.

The entire battle lasted little more than an hour before the last surviving group of Terminator soldiers were stumbled upon as corpses, having committed mass suicide. With the confirmation that there were no more survivors as Fort Ozark, most of the Indoctrinated were ordered to wander around with their Infected subordinates to ensure that there was indeed nothing left. Meanwhile, Ares and Thanatos, as well as a few other higher-ranked generals were ordered to return to the fleet in preparation for the next attack.

Upon returning to their ship, they were greeted by a holographic image of Harbinger, speaking to a group of Indoctrinated soldiers, "So you have finally arrived," it greeted, "Ares, Thanatos, I have a special assignment for you two. Increased genesis port activity has been identified in multiple sectors across the galaxy, you are to report to these locations at once and neutralize all that comes through. Let nothing stand between us and our mission. Soon, this iteration of the Harvest will be complete, the human race will evolve, and we will craft them in our image."


	15. Chapter XIV: Down the Rabbit Hole

_**Chapter XIV**_ **:**

 **-''Down the Rabbit Hole''**

 **- _Location Unknown-_**

 **- _Date Unknown_ -**

 **- _Time Unknown_ -**

 _The squeaking of a metal door awakes Ruby from her slumber. Her eyes shoot open and she looks around her, spying the rest of her family casually swimming around, seeming to care little about the arrival of their guest. Confused, she swims up through the water, surfacing to turn towards the door leading to the large, open room that houses her tank. A shadow stands tall and firm in the doorway, and although the skies above, through the glass ceiling, are dark and dreary, signifying that it is still night, she can easily identify her visitor by his aura, screaming out to her sensitive senses. She squeaks happily towards him, beckoning him to her, and she watches, her heart fluttering, as the figure approaches her, climbing up the ladder to the platform upon which the trainers use to care for their dolphins._

 _Alex crouches on the stand, extending a hand towards the water, and Ruby, chattering on, communicating her elation, gently rests her head upon his hand, allowing the human to pet her gently. She relishes in the contact, enjoying the feel of his skin upon hers as he gingerly pets the top and sides of her head, his hand sliding down her back and into the water, as far as he can reach._ You came for me... _she wants to express to him, but is unsure how to explain it so he can understand her..._

 _Then she notices something...there's an unusual feel to his aura. It is undeniably his, she knows this very well...but there is something else, too, something she cannot comprehend. There was a very specific reason for his arrival tonight, but she doesn't know what or why. She notices that there is something strange about his emotions, that there is an unusual heat in his hands, and that he seems worried, excited, and anxious. She only wishes that she could ask him what's on his mind, but then she realizes that his strokes are becoming much longer, slower, and heavier. She shifts enough to allow him more reach across her body, and she can barely contain a squeak as his hand reaches lower and lower, brushing across her intimate parts and concentrating around these areas. Although she feels like she should be alarmed at this highly unusual contact, she, somehow, isn't. Although it feels wrong, it also, somehow, feels right, like an itch that she didn't know existed until it was scratched. It's a feeling that reminds her of a different night, a long time ago, where a man had touched her similarly...with a lot more hostile and frightening intentions._

 _As he continues to pet her, his hand sliding across her slit sends surges of pleasure and heat throughout her body, and she struggles to hold back the urge to thrust against him, to make his hand go inside of her, to scratch this burning itch that bothers the_ inside _of her body. Yes, he's here for the same reason that the man who attacked her was, yet she's not worried, she's not afraid...in fact, she longs for intimacy, she_ wants _to mate with him, she_ wants _him to scratch that unbearable itch, she_ wants _to feel him inside of her. Her body aches and burns relentlessly, that itch growing increasingly bothersome, but memory of what the man did to her and fear that the same would happen again prevents her from fulfilling what she actually wants. Instead, she decides to make his relieving strokes a little easier to do...she rolls onto her back, exposing her belly to him, and even_ she _is surprised to see that her belly glows red, and that feverish heat seems heavily concentrated around the blush. He responds by petting only around her genitals now, the center of the blush, occasionally and smoothly sliding one finger just slightly between her folds and rubbing just inside of her body, his other fingers occasionally sliding into the pouches to either side of her slit, gently stroking and lightly playing with her teats, and this sends a dizzying wave of pleasure and comfort throughout her entire body, relieving that terrible itch, although hardly and temporarily. Still, she wants him inside of her, she feels that the deepest itch can_ only _be satisfied completely if he_ enters _her, but as she's about to submit and thrust against his hand, to make sure it goes inside of her body, he stops his rubs._

 _Confused, alarmed, surprised, and lusting for that contact, she cackles towards him, questioning why he has stopped. He crouches awkwardly in place, wearing a horrified, puzzled glance, lost in thought. In an attempt to convince him to resume his activities, as that itch is returning, she arches her body as much as she can, exposing her burning lower belly to him. Unfortunately, the need to breathe returns and, although he still hasn't touched her, she finally rolls back around, sitting in the water and squeaking towards him, trying to stir him from his distant gaze and return his full attention to the aroused female dolphin floating before him, desperately in need of his help. She can sense that he_ wants _her, that he_ wants _to mate, but at the same time, she can sense that he's fighting with the urge. She tries to convince him that it's all right, that she wants him, too...but he can't understand her primitive tongue, and this depresses her greatly._

 _When he returns to the physical realm from the depths of his mind, she watches as he unbuttons his jeans, beginning to lower them to reveal that he's wearing nothing underneath, and she strains her eyes to see what lies in the darkness. She's unfamiliar with his anatomy, but at the same time, she somehow just_ knows _that the object that he would penetrate her body with, the one that_ all _males have, is hiding in that darkness. He suddenly shakes his head, buttoning his pants back up and finally sitting down on the board, rubbing his face with his hands. The battle in his mind is intensifying, she reads his aura and confirms this, and realizing that he isn't going to do what he wants to, she protests as much as she can, squeaking and splashing around to get his attention. He only looks sadly towards her, corners of his mouth lightly curving into a small, sad smile before he rises to a crouch once again, gently petting her head before climbing back down, walking slowly towards where he had come._

Wait! _she tries to relay to him,_ Don't go! Please! I want you! I _need_ you!

 _But he cannot understand her...only squeaks form her conversation, she cannot speak the syllables that his species can. "Goodbye, Ruby..." he calls to her, "I'll see you soon..." before he leaves the room, quietly closing the door behind him._

No! _she squeaks towards him, furious that she can't speak his language,_ Don't leave!

 _Several minutes pass without his return, and Ruby finally surrenders, heartbroken to find that he isn't going to return that night. She's angry with herself that she can't speak his language, that she couldn't tell him what she wanted, and at the same time, that itch returns, more fierce and unbearable than ever before. Her lower body aches and hurts, and she looks around for a source of relief, feeling something that she has never felt before. The urge to release the pain is incredibly strong and overwhelming, she can't think straight through the itch, she_ needs _to relieve it. Never before has she felt this way, and she's terrified by the feeling surging through her body. She anxiously darts around her tank, searching for something that can relieve the itch. At last, she finds a small, flexible, plastic tube angled out from the wall of the tank, with a current of strong bubbles shooting from the open end. Immediately, she's around it, nudging it with her snout to try and make it jut out enough to use. Once she achieves this goal, she is instantly against it, forcing her body onto the pipe, jamming it inside of her and thrusting powerfully against it. The motions of the object inside of her, mixing with the powerful stream shooting from its open end against her inner body, finally reaches the itch, and she is filled with an overwhelming relief and pleasure at it._

 _She finds her mind turning to Alex, and envisioning that it is the object with which he would penetrate her, she is nearly crippled by a massive explosion of pleasure and heat shooting throughout her body. Her nether regions milk and squeeze at the object, and she can't help but to screech in alarm at the immense pleasure she feels. Her senses all sharpen, her heart beats within her ears, she's aware of every little detail around her, she feels on top of the world, and then, all of a sudden, she comes down from the high. The pleasure quickly recedes, killing the itch, and she finds herself suddenly exhausted beyond comprehension. As she pulls herself off the object, she looks down, feeling a queer sensation as she observes some light, milky fluid clouding the water before her, seeming to emerge from the slit in her body. All of a sudden, she feels normal once again, the itch is gone, and her body no longer aches. She surfaces for air, mournfully looking towards where Alex had left before she sinks beneath the water once again, returning to her isolated corner. The dolphins who had surrounded her, the males having taken an unusual, out-of-character interest in her after that unbearable itch had begun tormenting her body, suddenly lose interest, swimming away, and she watches them as the organs that had slipped out of their bodies following their uncharacteristic interest in her slowly slip back inside of them._

"Ruby...are you okay?"

The dolphin shot up with a surprised squeak, breathing heavily, wildly looking around before remembering where she was. Alpha Company was bound and tied to the walls of this mysterious structure they were in, and they were surrounded by an innumerable amount of unusual and even frightening creatures. Rocket, bound and cuffed beside her, cast her a worried glance. "What do you mean?" the dolphin responded, nervous.

"You were crying and moaning in your sleep..." the raccoon replied, "Is everything okay?"

"Oh..." Ruby replied sheepishly before nodding, blushing fiercely, "I...I'm fine...it was...uh...just a nightmare...that's all."

"That ain't no nightmare..." Dash chuckled, bound across the from her, up against a dividing wall in the center of the cargo bay of the prison transport they were in, "Dreaming of Alex were we?"

Ruby frowned, her blush intensifying, "How would _you_ know?"

"Well, for one, I know a wet dream when I see one, and for two..." she nodded towards the creature, "Belly is blushed, puss is swollen and wet, you're horny. Knowing you and your attractions, five bucks that it was Alex."

"Dash!"

"What? Just sayin'!"

"Well this is a little awkward then..." Rocket coughed.

"Yeah...welcome to Alpha Company...where privacy don't exist..." then Dash continued, grinning widely, "So...how hot was it? What did you fantasize about, huh?"

Ruby frowned, looking away in embarrassment, "Shut up..."

"What? I'm genuinely curious. Ain't got nothing better to talk about!"

With a sigh, Ruby responded, "It was...a memory. Back in 1977...one night, Alex paid me a visit after hours with the intention to mate. He backed down at the last moment though and left..." the dolphin then frowned, curling into as small a ball as she could muster from her uncomfortably bound position, hiding her face, I miss him..."

"We all do, Ruby..."

"I would give _anything_ and _everything_ just to be with him again..." the dolphin continued, "To be in his arms again...to feel his body against mine...we don't even have to mate we just..." and her voice trailed as she whined slightly, as if in pain.

"What happened?" Rocket asked.

"Almost a year ago," Dash began, noticing that Ruby was not up for chatting, "The Reapers attacked our home...he was killed in action."

"I'm sorry to hear that..."

Dash shrugged, "Shit happens...it's the army...death is to be expected."

"You're an army?"

"Yeah," Dash replied, "Terminator Militia. Everybody who came here with us make up Alpha Company, the elite unit."

"Never heard of 'em."

"Can't say I'm surprised, doubt that many people outside of Earth know about us."

"So...this Alex guy...what was he like? Why'd you guys like him so much?"

"He was our leader," Dash replied, "And for a couple of us, he was a lover, too. He was especially close to Ruby, which is why I'm not surprised she's that badly affected by it. We _all_ miss him, and he was friends with _all_ of us, but it's pretty obvious that Ruby was his favorite."

"He loved me...he accepted me and cared for me when nobody else would. I was rejected, hated, despised by everyone..." the dolphin began, voice weak, shaking her head, "But not him...he said I was special, that he loved me very much..." she smiled sadly, "I was his little gemstone..."

"There's other people out there, Ruby..." Rocket replied in a shockingly sympathetic tone, "Sure someone'll come by that'll be as great as him, don't you worry."

"Nobody can replace him..." Ruby frowned, "But thank you for the kind words nevertheless."

"So..." Dash began, trying to change the subject, "Where are we going?"

"Tyur'ma," Rocket growled, "Prison planet out in the middle of friggin' nowhere...it's where the worst of the worst go...supposedly inescapable, too but..." he chuckled gravely, "We'll see about that...there has yet to be a prison I've been tossed into that I've been unable to escape."

"How bad is it?" Jazz asked.

Rocket chuckled, "Well, the guards are forced to live there, and warp drives are illegal. Pretty much all the ships there are junkers, and most prisoners who go there are sent there for life...so thanks a lot for throwing me under the bus and telling the guards where I was hidin', appreciate that...Sure hope the others got away..."

"They need an entire planet?" Rapid asked.

"Yeah, the worst of the worst in the galaxy go there, and most of 'em have very high lifespans under normal circumstances. The extra space really ain't needed though...think I heard that the average lifespan for male prisoners on Tyur'ma is one to two Terran years, one to two days, a _week_ at the most, for females," Rocket spat.

"You know much about Earth?"

"Nah," Rocket replied, popping his neck muscles, "Just tryin' to break it down into terms that _you_ idiots would understand."

"So...what the hell are we gonna do? We can't stay here!" Dash exclaimed, "We need to find out how to get back to Earth and stop the Reapers!"

"I need to get an idea of the planet's layout," Rocket began, "Then I'll get us outta here, no worry."

"You haven't looked into it?"

Rocket smirked, "As if I could? There are no records kept of Tyur'ma, anyone who gets sent there gets sent to die, forgotten by the universe. I know some real basic statistics bullshit, but that's about it."

"Why are they sending us there anyway? Surely there are other prisons!" Sapphire exclaimed.

"Well, we did kinda slaughter an entire space station by ejecting them into space."

"Jesus Christ..." Jazz growled, "This is bullshit!"

"Settle down, rabbit, we'll figure out somethin'. Just give me some time..."

About an hour later, the ship landed in Tyur'ma's sole hangar, built into the side of a mountain. As the cargo doors to the shuttle opened, the prisoners got a brief glance of a raging blizzard outside before the hangar's blast doors slammed shut. There was no heat in the facility, and Alpha Company found themselves going from the unbearable heat of the filled prisoner transport to the blistering cold outside.

A platoon of heavily armed and armored guards appeared to greet them, casually throwing the prisoners outside of the ship and shepherding them to various points across the hangar, organizing them into groups to be sent to differing blocks As Alpha Company was forced out of the ship and escorted to one isolated region of the hangar, they looked around them in silence as the guards brutally beat the new arrivals into submission, demeaning them in any way they possibly could.

Once the ship had emptied and the groups had gathered together, the warden, a massive, hulking, almost minotaur-like creature walked stiffly back and forth across the center of the hangar, shouting, "Welcome to Tyur'ma, insects, your brand new home! You are all here because the universe has decided that it's better that you are forgotten in time, and that you are nothing more than a waste of breath and space! Here, you aren't a person, you're a number! You are allotted four hours of sleep, and you will be mining for the rest of your stay here. If you want to eat, you will make your quota, if you refuse, we have no qualms about killing you where you stand!

"Nobody has ever succeeded in trying to escape Tyur'ma, and many have tried. IF you can somehow get outside these walls, you will perish in the ocean of white outside. Even if you _can_ survive the cold, with near-fatal freezing temperatures on a constant basis, we constantly have unmanned drones patrolling the entire surface of this gods-forsaken planet. They will find you, and they will kill you! As an added bonus, we keep no ships capable of space travel on the surface. So don't think for even a moment that there is anyway for you to get _off_ Tyur'ma! You will not and cannot leave unless we want you to!"

"Get a load of this guy..." Rocket smirked, "I swear the guards are gettin' bigger and dumber every day."

Finishing his speech, the warden stopped in place, scanning the gathered clusters of prisoners with a snarl before growling fiercely, "Show these insects to their new home," and with a cackle, he left the hangar into one of the many branching corridors.

Alpha Company was guided through a maze of bitterly cold, pipe-lined halls, across several blocks of tiny cells, and into a wide open room. They were on a bridge covered in a steel mesh that reached a crossroads in the center of the room. Fifty feet beneath, various unknown races of creatures hammering away at the permafrost and earthen walls with roughly-forged picks. They were led across the bridge and into another series of winding, cell-lined corridors before soon reaching their apparent destination, an immense, open room similar to the last. Instead, however, the inmates here were unchained and weren't working, they were fighting, observing fights, or chatting among themselves in unknown languages.

The guards carelessly tossed them down into the pit, and Alpha Company immediately clustered together as the inmates took interest in the new arrivals, approaching them.

"Feeding time!" one of the guards cackled, throwing Ruby, the last one in the group, down into the pit and closing the door behind them, bolting it shut.

Several hulking, brutish prisoners encircled the clustered arrivals, and Ruby felt her heart sink at the overwhelming hostility she read in their auras. It didn't take long for her to realize that they weren't going to survive the night. The depraved creatures' auras screamed of a relentless fury and an insatiable lust for blood. It was clear that only those who were most capable of protecting themselves could survive for any longer than a day. Suddenly, one prisoner, one of the largest in the group, paused in his approach, sniffing the air, "Females..." he chuckled, "I call the fish!"

Ruby squeaked in response, cowering as Alpha was forcefully wedged apart by the encircling inmates, cornering the members individually. Ruby anxiously glanced around, backpedaling until her back was against a wall, cut off from the rest of her companions. Four monstrous creatures stood between her and the others, and she could read in their auras of the painful, vile, and horrific acts they were planning to do to her. One of the prisoners tackled her to the ground, another rapidly lunging forward, and the two pinned her to the ground with ease, incapacitating her to allow the largest one, who she assumed was the alpha male, to approach her maliciously. She struggled against them, but found that they were alarmingly strong against her, even with her supposedly superior mutations compared to the others of her unit. Before the creature could assault her, she heard a hellish roar from behind him, and the alpha could hardly turn before Piermont, having returned to his natural form, casually tossed him aside. Several prisoners' interests were suddenly diverted from Cynder nearby as they charged towards Piermont. "COME GET SOME!" he snarled, snapping his fangs at one of them and ripping his head from his shoulders. Blood pouring from his fangs, homicidal fire burning brightly in his eyes, the dragon brought down as many as he could, constantly having to kill himself out of an attempted encircling trap by his opponents.

Gathering her strength and courage, the prisoners restraining her distracted by the dragon, she ripped free from their grasp, picking herself up and utilizing her hydrokinesis to surround herself in a veil of water, from which several watery tentacles emerged, preparing to lash out and impale whoever threatened her. The other members of Alpha Company managed to collect and organize themselves, forming a phalanx in the center of the room, ready to attack anyone who approached them. Soon, only Piermont remained outside the unit, snapping and burning his way through the disorganized inmates. After several minutes of bloody combat, the surviving inmates, although still outnumbering Alpha Company by the hundreds, if not thousands, pulled back. "Listen up!" Rocket spat, "Here's the deal. You sons of bitches stay on _one_ side, and we're gonna be over here on _our_ side! If you pricks think that you're gonna take us on, you better damn well be ready and able to do so, cause we're not gonna hesitate to drop a few of you morons! You're dealing with the most advanced military force in the galaxy, and nothin' you uneducated bunch of hicks can do is gonna take us down! That goes for our females, too. They're _OURS_! Got it? If I wake up to find one of you depraved piles of shit riding ANY of our girls against their will?" he chuckled menacingly, "When we get through with you, you're gonna be nothin' more than a pile of blood and bone! If anyone thinks I'm bullshitting you, please, step forward!"

Several prisoners, wearing arrogant expressions, revealed shanks and picks, menacingly approaching the group.

Rocket only chuckled, "You dumbasses..." then, "Kill them."

Instantly, Piermont was upon them, effortlessly ripping them to shreds, drenching the floor and walls in blood and gore. Several more stepped forward to engage them, but Nala and Keisha brought them down seconds later. Finally realizing they were not making any headway and that Rocket's threats were very much factual, they backed down, stepping away and gathering closely together at one end of the room.

"Good shit, glad we could talk," the raccoon replied, walking over to Ruby who, although trying to maintain a rigid appearance, was still trembling with obvious fear. He whispered to her, "Hey...are you okay?"

She nodded slowly, "I'll be fine...eventually..."

Several hours later, Alpha Company gathered together at one group of tables in a corner of the room, away from the other inmates who were going about their daily business. "So..." Dash began, "What's the plan? Regardless of the raccoon's threats, if we stay here for very long, eventually someone's gonna get the balls to mutiny against us. All they need to know to curbstomp our asses is rally up the entire group and organize an offensive against us."

Jazz smirked, "Pretty sure that's beyond their range of capability. These guys are dumb muscle at the most."

"Yeah...well you don't need brains to win a war just so long as you have the numbers on your side. There's fifty thousand of them and only like thirty of us at the most. We don't figure out somethin' real quick, and we're gonna be riding the same boat as the Spartans at Thermopylae."

"Especially with our females..." Rapid spoke up, shaking his head, "Betcha anything that these...things...haven't seen a woman, or a fresh woman at least, in years. Won't take long before the instinct to mate overrides everything else. We can't stop them if the entire group decides to gang-rape one of them."

"Doubt women live very long down here anyway," Dash sighed, "In _most_ species anyway, the males are stronger than the females."

"You've clearly never seen the Desert Dwellers of Martaan," Cherub chuckled, "Matriarchal and barbaric, the females are twice the size, and twice the aggression, of the males."

"Lions, too," Nala replied, "There's a reason why the females are the hunters."

"That's why I said _most_ species," Dash scoffed.

"Back to the topic at hand..." Jazz spat, "We need a plan, else we're boned, plain and simple."

"I hope the raptors are okay..." Ruby suddenly spoke, frowning, causing all eyes to look at her, aghast.

"Are you fuckin' serious?" Jazz hissed, "We're stranded in the middle of fucking nowhere in one of the most hostile places in the universe, and all _you're_ worried about is those god damn dinosaurs!?"

"Jazz, lay off her, huh?" Dash asked, "Don't worry, Ruby...I'm sure they're fine. Once we figure out how to get out of here, we can go back to them, okay?"

Reluctantly, Ruby nodded.

"Rocket," Cynder suddenly began, "Please tell us you got _something_?"

"I'm workin' on it..." the raccoon scowled, "This place is a lot more secure than I thought."

"I thought you were some master escapist or some shit?" Aria spat.

"Well, normally, I am. As I said before, this place is where the worst of society, and the ones who can't _stay_ in prison, go. The warden, as much of an idiot as he is, was right about one thing: this place is nearly inescapable. They don't keep any ships on the surface, and that's given that we _could_ survive the cold. Escaping the facility ain't no problem, I saw five hundred different friggin' security flaws I can exploit...but we're at the mercy of the cold when we get out...it's the coldest planet in the system. Then, if we found a way to survive freezing to death out there, then we have the problem of managing to bring a ship down from the space port in orbit so we can get outta here. Only the warden can clear ships to land, so we need to figure out how to...convince him...to let us off."

"So what's the plan?"

"Did you hear what I just said? I'm workin' on it, sheesh! For now...let's just concentrate on surviving. Don't worry about the escape plan, I'll figure somethin' out, rest of you concentrate on keeping all of us alive. No sense in coming up with a plan if we're gonna leave this place as corpses."

"Lights out is gonna be a nightmare," Jazz breathed, "Some of these bastards are stupid enough to follow one of us away from the group so they can take us down somewhat discreetly. We need to find a corner that we can secure, then we need to form a defensive line around our females, they're the highest priority target. We need to travel together as a pack, don't matter if its to work, to lunch, or to the fuckin' bathroom...and I'm _really_ damn glad that we didn't drag Aphrodite's bitch ass over here with us. This is one of those points where it's extremely important that we are completely in sync with one another, that we know and can address our individual weaknesses. If they cut one of us off from the others, the whole group will fall."

"What's your plan there, huh?" Rocket asked.

"Get the scariest and most aggressive of our guys out on the front, then split our strongest behind them, then the smartest, then the rest of the strongest, then the females."

"Misogynistic asshole," Dash playfully taunted.

"Hey, I'm trying to keep you girls safe here."

"What if one of our females fall under the 'scariest', 'strongest', and/or 'aggressive' category?" Cynder asked, observing her tailblade.

"Then they'll be at the front of the core, encircling and protecting our more vulnerable females."

Cynder scoffed.

"Sorry, Cyn, but even if you were the baddest one here," Dash began, "There is a much higher chance of one of these creeps besting _you_ than someone like, say Piermont."

"Really, Dash? Are you freaking serious?"

"She's right," Aria replied.

"Fuck you, too, guys. Have you ever _seen_ me in combat?"

"Cyn," Spyro began, "This isn't a matter of proving your strength and superiority. We all know that you are probably one of the best fighters in the entire militia...but that's why we need you to protect the others, like Ruby for instance."

"Hey!" the dolphin squeaked, offended.

"Don't try to deny it, Ruby," Spyro sighed, "You know it's true. Although you may be the strongest physically, no offense, but you are an emotional train wreck."

Cynder sighed in surrender, "I guess you're right then..."

"Don't worry," and Spyro smiled, affectionately nuzzling her, "We all know that you're a certified badass...but at the same time, it's our duty to keep you girls safe. Think of it this way, you're the last resort. If we can't hold them back, it's up to _you_ to make sure they don't get through to our vulnerable core."

Cynder pondered this for several moments before shrugging, "Well...when you put it _that_ way..."

"So we're golden then!" Rocket clapped, "Beautiful! Now, let's see this magnificent plan of yours in action, hmm?"

"Shut up you snarky piece of crap," Jazz scowled.

"Hey! I'm the guy that's gonna get _all_ of our asses off this frozen hell, so you _better_ start showing me a little respect."

Jazz, with a growl, tackled and pounced the raccoon, "Is that a _threat_!?" 

"Sheesh...hotheaded much?" Rocket replied, unfazed, "Also, when was the last time you brushed your teeth? At the very least, find a breath mint or somethin'."

With a snarl, the rabbit clambered off of him, sitting down at the front of the group, staring out at the rest of the room and the other inmates.

After several moments of silence, Rocket finally said, brushing the dirt off his fur, "Anyway, as I was sayin'. _You_ guys concentrate on keeping everyone out of harm's way, _I'll_ concentrate on the escape. I got it covered."

Alpha Company was rudely awakened by a blaring alarm that sounded throughout the entire facility, forcing everyone to awaken. Around them, the other inmates reflexively climbed out of their cells, grabbing various tools and making their way into the caves snaking throughout the planet's interior. The guards arrived soon after, forcing Alpha Company to find and pick up their own tools and violently shepherding them to the caves. Here, they found all of the inmates working to mind the permafrost and walls of the caves, and Dash asked, "The hell are they even looking for?"

"Thaicium," the guard responded, "Very strong steel, resembles platinum, and occurs in veins with a red, green, and gold coloration to them."

"Thaicium?" Dash snorted, "Sounds more like Element X to me..."

"It may very well be," Jazz replied, "I think I remember the _Maxia_ referring it to Thaicium as well..."

"How coincidental that, across from the freaking galaxy, it has the same name as Earth does, huh?"

Jazz only shrugged, not knowing how to respond.

"Or perhaps that's how you idiots perceive what they're saying," Rocket replied, "Cause without those fancy little earpieces you were given, you couldn't understand what they're sayin'. It's a universal translator."

"Then wouldn't they just say 'Element X' instead of Thaicium?"

"Hell I don't friggin' know."

"Enough conversation!" the guards hissed, "Get to work!"

Much to their shock, Element X, or rather Thaicium, was very prominent in the planet's crust. Alpha Company agreed to take note of the planet's location so they could relay the information to their allies when they managed to return to Earth. Many of their machines of war were made from Element X, especially the immense City Minecrawler tanks, as it was resistant to almost everything, including dragonfire, which normally melted any and all metals down that it was exposed to. A number of hours later, they were allowed to stop mining for the day and were allowed to return to the rec room to relax before bed. Because it took them awhile to find where to pass off the newly mined ores, by the time they returned, the other prisoners has already arrived and were currently standing around a makeshift arena, cheering on a fight between two hulking beasts.

From the back of the ground, Alpha Company observed the event, wondering whether this was a true fight or simply a way to pass the time. Eventually, one of the beasts, appearing like a large, bipedal boar, managed to beat down his opponent, a lizard-like, reptilian creature. As the lizard fell to the ground unconscious, the boar effortlessly picked him up and threw him out into the crowd, bellowing an eerie roar to announce his victory. Soon after, another prisoner was forced through the crowd and made to climb up onto the arena as the boar's next opponent.

"Oh...wonderful..." Rocket sighed.

"If we can win a few fights up there, we might be able to assert some kind of authority over everyone..." Dash said, grinning widely.

"You wanna do that? Be my guest," Jazz replied, shaking his head, "Good Christ, I don't want to antagonize these bastards anymore than I have to."

"What's wrong? You chicken?" Dash taunted, "Thought you were supposed to be this _big bad_ soldier?"

"Fuck you, Dash," he snarled, "I just don't have a death wish. Pissing these guys off is equivalent to taking a piss on a bee hive. These sons of bitches have been here for so long that they have that sort of mentality. Everyone has their niche and they all contribute to the greater good of the hive, or the perceived good anyway. Piss off one, you likely piss 'em all off."

"How the hell can you know somethin' like that?" Rocket asked.

Jazz only tapped his forehead, "I spent most of last night diving into their minds to figure out more about them, since I couldn't sleep worth shit. They won't openly admit it, but they _know_ their place in the ranks."

"Well I don't care," Dash spat, shoving her way through Alpha Company and towards the arena, where the boar had just finished beating the new challenger into submission.

"Dash! DASH!" Cynder exclaimed, starting to chase after her before scoffing, "Fucking hell, has she completely lost it?"

"She must be suicidal," Rocket chuckled, "Dumbass."

"Oi!" Dash called over to the arena, all prisoners had their eyes immediately trained on her, "Gonna show you morons how it's done!" and she, with a mischievous laugh, flew into the arena, lowering the front half of her body like a bull about to charge, extending her wings to their full span in an attempt to threaten her opponent. "Let's tango, huh?"

"This pathetic creature thinks she can stop the great Tauren!" and the boar broke out into wild laughter, "I will beat you into submission, insect!"

"Bring it on!"

With a roar, the beast charged towards her, Dash merely leaped out of the way, countering by taking to the wing and ramming, full force, into his side, knocking him to the ground. From the rear of the crowd of prisoners, taking bets on the victor, Alpha Company merely observed in horror, several shaking their heads or sighing in surrender.

"Great..." Spyro frowned, "Now we're gonna have to have _another_ funeral."

"I hope she knows what the hell she's doing..." Cynder replied, shaking her head, "She really needs to learn some self-control."

"Piermont should have gone up instead," the purple dragon continued, "He's got nothing to lose and he would have pretty much owned these guys three ways from Saturday."

As Dash circled around her opponent, attempting to land blows against his hard hide, which he didn't even seem to feel, she began to realize that perhaps it wasn't the best idea to jump into the fight. Soon, she tried to figure out how she could manage to escape the fight without seeming like a coward, knowing very well that if she fled, the other inmates would be on her almost instantly to ensure she finished what she had foolishly started. However, after her constant blows finally seemed to be starting to leave an effect on her foe...or he began to succumb to exhaustion at least, their fight was interrupted by a loud, booming alarm, different than the one that had awakened them. Sirens blared throughout the facility, and a powerful, quake-like rumble caused everyone to stumble in place, and a few to fall over.

"The hell was that!?" Cynder exclaimed, looking around, hearing what sounded like distant gunfire.

From over the intercom system that spread throughout the entire facility, they could hear Quill's voice say, "So _this_ is where they brought you sons of bitches, huh?"

" _Quill_!?" Rocket exclaimed in surprise, "The hell is he doing...?"

"Sit tight, gonna get you guys out of here."

An alarm sounded as the gate standing between the room Alpha Company was imprisoned within and a long, earthen corridor heading up into the labyrinthine halls of the cell block slammed open.

"Might wanna hurry..." Quill replied, "Gotta lotta guys comin', things are about to get a little crazy."

"Damn you Quill!" Rocket exclaimed, rushing through the gate and into the hall. Once the last member of Alpha Company made it through, it slammed shut behind them, trapping the other inmates inside. They navigated the path until reaching the metallic halls snaking throughout the prison, connecting all the blocks. Upon reaching an observation room that encircled the rec area, they regrouped with Quill and several other people, including a hulking, humanoid brute, a human-like, green skinned woman, and Groot, who merely smiled, nodding towards them.

"What the hell is going on!?" Spyro asked looking around.

"Busting your asses out of here," Quill replied in a slight, Southern drawl, flashing them an arrogant grin, "Least you can do is say thanks."

Arming themselves with weapons from the felled guards that Quill had brought down on his way over here, the human kicked open the door, rushing back into the halls leading to the hangar.

"Hope you boys and girls are good with a gun, Rocket and I can't take all the shit for ya."

"We're soldiers, I think we can handle ourselves _quite_ well, thanks," Jazz replied sarcastically.

"Ain't even gonna ask how you managed to cut through Tyur'ma's defenses..." Rocket scowled.

"Good idea," Quill replied. Eventually, they reached the hangar where an old, beat-up looking ship was sitting patiently in the center of the room, waiting for her passengers. Quill, Rocket, and the rest of his team spread out to cover the approaching guards, with Quill calling back to Alpha Company, "You guys get aboard the _Milano_ , we'll cover you!"

Without a single response, they rushed onto the ship, the others of Quill's team, sans Rocket and Quill himself climbing aboard next. Finally, once everyone else was aboard, Rocket and Quill climbed on themselves, shutting the cargo bay doors behind them as they rushed past the exhausted Alpha Company, Quill taking his seat in the cockpit and taking off, heading towards a hole in the hangar door that he had apparently blown through to get in.

"Sit tight!" the human ordered over the intercom system throughout the ship, addressing Alpha Company sitting in the back, recovering their energy and breaths, "Might be a little bumpy so...might wanna consider holding onto something!"

He rocketed out of the hangar and into the snowy, mountainous wastelands across the planet's surface, heading into the skies. For awhile, they experienced little combat, and it wasn't until they breached the atmosphere, crossing into the void, when Nova Corps ships arrived on scene to intercept the escaping fugitives. The enemy ships fired towards the _Milano_ , and Quill struggled to avoid the blasts, preparing his warp drive.

"Okay!" he began, "Things are gonna get a _little_ bit interesting...never warped under fire before but...hey, there's a first time for everything."

"Where are we going?" Cynder exclaimed, obviously unheard from the opposite side of the ship.

Once the ships were almost upon them, Quill triggered the warp, vanishing into slipspace soon after, several rounds from the Nova Corps' ships _also_ making it through and striking the rear of the ship. Alarms sounded throughout, and Quill swore, "SHIT! They damaged the warp drive!"

"What!? Where the hell are we going then!?" Rocket exclaimed.

"Your guess is as good as mine..."

The ship exited out of slipspace in the Sol system, near Luna, Earth's moon. Looking outside the small porthole windows lining the sides of the cargo bay, Cynder sighed, "Oh thank God...we made it back to Earth..." and sure enough, they could see their home planet nearby, completely encircled by the _Ring_. Alpha Company made their way towards the cockpit and they found Quill and Rocket rapidly trying to figure out what to do. Over the ship's communications link, one of the _Ring's_ engineers was demanding they identify themselves, threatening to destroy them if they didn't. When none of Quill's responses were accepted, and the impatient engineer started the countdown to produce acceptable identification before they were to be attacked, Spyro shoved hi way to the front, calling, "Stop! This is Seraph! Alpha Company is aboard the craft, do not engage! Repeat! Do not engage!"

Silence fell on the other end of the line for several minutes before the engineer responded, "Roger that, welcome back home..." then, "Where's the _King Solomon_?"

"We went to investigate that space station, we were attacked by a Reaper and arrested by the local intergalactic police force there...We literally _just_ managed to escape."

The engineer scowled, then replied in an irritated tone, "Fair enough, I suppose."

"Don't worry," Spyro replied, "We'll get it back home as soon as we can."

"I'd hope so...these things aren't cheap."

"God damn it!" Quill hissed, monitoring the ship's readings while Spyro was chatting with the _Ring_ , "Warp drive is badly damaged...we ain't going anywhere until we can get it fixed...Rocket, gonna need you."

"Yeah, yeah," the raccoon scowled, "I'll get to work on it."

Spyro guided Quill towards New Alexandria, where he was allowed to land the ship in one of the hangars located in the mountains west of the city. Its passengers dismounted, and the rest of Alpha Company, ensuring that Quill's team had everything they needed to begin repairs, retreated back to the city proper, promising to return once they had washed up.


	16. Chapter XV: Genesis

_**Chapter XV**_ **:**

 **-''Genesis''**

 **-New Alexandria, Montana-**

 **- _27 April 2015_ -**

 **- _1318 Hours_ -**

Dash, Spyro, and Cynder strolled into the main hangar located near the mining district west of New Alexandria. Booming over speakers throughout the room was the _Gorillaz_ song _Rhinestone Eyes_ , and Rocket, hard at work in front of a large, disassembled structure, was singing along. Ruby, who had been visiting him, suddenly looked up at the arrivals, flashing them a welcoming smile before returning her attention to Tiberius and Athena. The two raptors were nearly fully grown now, but still had the youthful curiosity and apparent mentality of a hatchling. "Lunch is ready!" a voice called out from a room adjacent to the hangar, and Tiberius and Athena shot up from their sitting position, chattering as they raced to where Aphrodite was wheeling in a freshly butchered cow, straight from the northern agricultural district. She briefly called over to the trio in greeting before disappearing back inside the room she had emerged from.

"That doesn't look like any warp drive _I've_ seen," Dash began in a suspicious tone.

"That's cause it ain't," Rocket chuckled, and grinned mischievously at them, "I want a friggin' Reaper cannon. Figure we take enough of those things down, and I can salvage all the parts to make one."

"You're supposed to be repairing my ship," Quill spat impatiently, wheeling over a toolbox to him.

"Yeah? And I told you, Quill. Cannon first, ship last...only thing keeping me sane in this friggin' place. Besides, you know as well as I do that you're gonna be tickled to death when you have the most powerful gun in the entire galaxy mounted on your ship."

Cynder sifted through the pile of CDs and vinyls in front of the stereo that Rocket had hard-wired into the intercom system, growling, "Why are you messing around with Alex's stuff?"

"What?" Rocket, the little raccoon covered in grease, replied, looking up from his work, "It's not like he needs it anymore!"

"Still, this is wrong!"

"Bah! I'm honoring his memory..." and he returned to his work, mumbling beneath his breath, "Yeah right, honoring the memory of a guy I don't even know..." out loud, he said, "But boy does he have a good taste in music! Which reminds me," and he strolled over to the messy pile of music, holding up one of the vinyls, "What's a Pink Floyd? Some kinda boy band?"

"Don't touch that!" Cynder hissed, ripping the vinyl edition of _Pink Floyd: The Wall_ from his grimy paws, "Shit's worth more than you."

"Hey! Hey! Easy now...no need to go around insultin' people."

"Why did you rewire the radio!?"

"'Cause I was getting' tired of the shit that was on."

"What was on?"

"I dunno, some bullshit about a buncha big machines invading some big city."

" _What!?_ " and Cynder immediately turned off the music, tuning into the radio. Over the airwaves, _War of the Worlds_ was broadcasting.

Dash broke out into wild laughter and Spyro only sighed, saying, "What's this? Some kinda joke?"

"You're surprised?" the pegasus replied, "The DJ's always been a trickster, I think it's funny."

"Giving the situation at hand, genocidal machines is no laughing matter," Cynder scoffed, "Why would he play something like this? It's in bad taste."

"You really need to chill, Cyn, it ain't hurtin' nobody."

"Rocket," Quill spoke up again, "Get back to work on fixing that warp drive."

"You do it! I'm busy!"

The unseen human loudly groaned.

Spyro shook his head, "Whenever I see you, you're either working on your little hobby cannon there, or bullshitting with Ruby, I don't really call that busy."

"Hey," and the raccoon shot up, pointing an accusing finger at the dragon, "You be quiet, I don't see _you_ doing anything productive around here, and this this army thing is supposed to be _your_ job, we're just visiting."

"Yeah, and I don't think I'm speaking solely for myself when I say that you're quickly overstaying your welcome."

"I don't mind him being here," Ruby replied, "He's fun to talk to and exchange stories with."

"See?" Rocket grinned, chuckling, "She likes me."

"She's probably just trying to lure you to bed," Dash cackled, "It's been months since she got laid last."

"Shut up, Dash," Ruby growled with an irritated squeal, "I'll have you know that I was with Sapphire just a few nights ago."

"So, he decided you had plenty of time to grieve, huh?"

Ruby elicited a rapid-fire series of angry squeaks and whistles, likely cussing her out. Finished with their meal, the two raptors looked up from the carcass, looking around the room, blinking towards Dash, Spyro, and Cynder before, with a greeting call, returning back to Ruby, nuzzling against her and nearly knocking her to the ground. The dolphin giggled as the raptors rubbed their heads against her, plopping onto their sides and demanding attention and affection.

"Is Aphrodite here?" Zinnia suddenly asked, entering the hangar from the same direction that the Spyro, Cynder, and Dash had earlier.

"Yo! Aphrodite!" Quill called, cupping his hands, "Your girlfriend's here again!"

Everyone, sans Ruby, the raptors, and Rocket turned to watch as Aphrodite quickly and clumsily rushed out of the back room, running to Zinnia's side, out of breath. The girl crouched down until she was level with the small creature, affectionately scratching Aphrodite's head, "Ready for your daily training?"

The humanoid triceratops nodded vigorously, "Yep! Just had to make a quick detour to feed the raptors...but I'm ready to go now."

"Awesome," and the girl stood up once again, "We'll be back guys!"

"Be seein' ya," Rocket responded, standing in place, scratching his head, then, "Ah shit...looks like I need a few more things before I can do anything else."

"Awesome," Quill replied impatiently, "Now how's about you get back to work on the warp drive."

"Bah! I'll get it done, stop worryin' and have a little hope in me for Chrissakes."

" _Ruby..."_

Instantly, the dolphin was awake, heart racing. She anxiously looked around, calling out the name of her mate in excitement. After several minutes, her calls being lost in the wind of cold night, her excitement vanished and her heart sank. A deep depression settled over her, and she could do little but curl into a small ball, beginning to break down into tears. Thoughts of her deceased mate dominated her mind, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not rid herself of them. All she wanted was to have him hold her in his arms, to comfort her and reassure her, to tell her that everything was going to be all right.

Once more, she found herself considering departing from this world to join him in the afterlife, and she considered her options. Drowning was too slow and painful...she wanted it to be quick and painless, she didn't want to suffer. An idea suddenly came to mind, and turning to face Sapphire, sleeping soundly, she slowly and quietly slipped out of the pool, making her way inside of Club Camelot and towards Suite 1. Ensuring that everyone was asleep, she sneaked through the living room, down the left hall, and paused in front of the closet door leading into the armory. Shaking uncontrollably in fear and worry about what he was about to do, she quietly opened the door, her gauntlet-covered fins clasping around the butt of a Desert Eagle. She quietly withdrew it from its holster, grabbing a full clip and sneaking back outside into the rotunda. She didn't want to leave a mess for anyone to clean up...she had to find some place quiet and isolated, preferably where no one would find her...she didn't want anyone to see her mangled corpse.

Stepping out onto the balcony, east balcony overlooking the city, her eyes fell upon the distant Burned Land. With a sad smile, she closed her eyes, opening them again to find herself standing far outside the city, near the still-smoldering remains of the _Fiernes Curtain_. She navigated into a tiny crevice in the side of a rock, finding a shallow pool sitting in a small, circular cave just inside the mountain...the perfect tomb for a creature like her. She sat down against a stone outcropping arching over the water, her intelligent mind calculating where her body would fall upon the fatal blow. Closing her eyes, memory of Alex surging through her mind and tears in her eyes, she hesitantly placed the cold barrel of the weapon inside of her mouth, instantly tasting strong, bitter oil, and she switched off the safety.

For several minutes, she remained this way, struggling to come up with the courage to pull the trigger, to end it all. Once more, her mind taunted her in the voice of Alex, mocking her cowardice and inability to carry through with the act. Finally, she broke down, her telekinetic control over the weapon breaking as it clattered to the ground, discharging into the wall. She broke down into hysterical sobbing, beating herself for her fear and cowardice. Her memories of Alex finally dissolved into memory of the raptors she had adopted...would they even realize her absence? Would they miss her?

Then her thoughts became dark once more...would _anyone_ miss her? Surely Sapphire would but...would anyone else? Would anyone else even know if she went missing? Would they write her off with no care in the world, caring little about what happened? Or would they actively try to find her? Eventually, her hysterics calmed, and she collapsed under a fresh wave of tears, she was soon aware of a small, furry paw placed up against her body, "Ruby, are you okay?"

She looked up, her vision clearing to find Rocket standing beside her, casting a puzzled and slightly concerned expression. "Leave me alone..." she managed through her sobbing, "Just...go away!"

Here, Rocket noticed the pistol lying on the ground. He picked it up, observing it, then turned to look at her with an accusing glare, "You were gonna shoot yourself, weren't you?"

"Why does it matter to you?" she spat, "It's not...it's not like you or them or...anyone would miss me!"

"First of all, that's a crock of grade A bullshit. Second of all, are you stupid? Did you ever stop to think about how the people who'd miss you react to this?"

" _NO_ one would miss me!" she snapped, "The only one who would is dead!"

"Oh yeah? What about Sapphire, huh? What about Dash? What about the raptors? Hell, what about _ME_?"

Silence fell between them, Rocket breathing heavily, struggling to control his temper. Ruby looked away, in shame.

"Listen to me," Rocket finally continued, "I know how you're feeling, all right? I lost people, too! Do you see me acting all melancholic and friggin' suicidal? Hell no! Whether or not you're humble enough to admit it, you selfish son of a bitch, there _ARE_ people who would miss you. So how about you straighten up, man up, and stopping being a bitchy, whiny little girl! You're bigger than this! Suicide is for cowards, people lookin' to take the easy way out. Someone with a pair between their legs wouldn't do such a thing, they'd tough it all the way out to the end. _THAT'S_ what you need to do. Don't stoop down to their level! Tough it out!"

Finally, Ruby submitted with a squeaky sigh.

"Glad we could get that worked out," Rocket responded, "Now, why don't we get your butt back home, huh?"

"Cynder..." Spyro asked, entering the bathroom. The she-dragon was still in the shower, having been in there for almost an hour, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine..." the she-dragon replied, her voice shaky and uncertain.

"You've been in here for awhile...are you sure?"

In a bitter, furious tone, she snapped, "I'm masturbating...leave me alone..."

Before she could finish her statement, however, the purple dragon threw open the curtains, finding his mate, in her human form, positioned awkwardly in the middle of the tub, in a pool of quickly gathering blood, a bloody, silver-bladed knife at her heels. Horrified, she attempted to hide her slashed wrists, but not before the purple dragon, in disbelief, quickly wrangled the knife from her grasp. She called out to him as he stormed away, in shock.

"Wait!" she called after him, scampering out of the tub, "Where are you going!? Stop!"

"I can't believe this..." he began in a panic-edged tone, "Why would you..."

"Please! I..." but they both stopped in place in the middle of the hallway, eyes wide.

Rocket stood in the middle of the living room, gently lowering an eerily calm Ruby onto the couch, "Hope you don't mind, but I let myself in."

Spyro turned to face his mate, still in her human form, fully nude, "We'll talk about this later..." he growled in a hurt tone, holding the knife up, "But I'm taking this."

Cynder quietly pulled back into her room, gently closing the door behind her. Only once she had gone did Spyro nod towards the raccoon, "What the hell is going on here?"

"You need to keep a closer eye on your friend here," he replied, "Before she decides to do herself in," and he tossed the unloaded gun to the dragon before throwing the ejected clip over to him. Ruby only looked away, unable to meet anyone's eyes.

"What happened?"

"I told you," Rocket spat, "She's suicidal, you need to keep an eye on her. I ain't always gonna be here to stop her...I ain't some friggin' guardian angel..." and he stood up, walking towards the door leading out into the penthouse floor's rotunda, "If you idiots don't get a hold of yourselves...you won't need the Reapers to take you down...you'll destroy yourselves," and with this, he finally left the room.

The next morning, Alpha Company was called to the command center within the military district. There, they found Bleu and Fox on scene, both seeming anxious. "What's going on?" Jazz asked, taking a seat in one of the chairs.

"We've found a pattern in the recent Reaper attacks..." Bleu replied, "And it may be the same reason why they attacked Rocket and his gang..."

"Just spit it out."

Bleu frowned, "Very well then...um...well..." he walked over to the holographic projection of the galaxy in the center of the room, "It seems that the Reapers are being attracted to the energy output of genesis ports...they've been going after any and all genesis ports that spawn throughout the universe, destroying everything that comes out from them."

"So that's why our little planet here's been mostly spared from their wrath..." Rapid sighed.

"Exactly," Bleu continued, "If you want to follow their trail...we need to find and target the genesis ports before they do. If we can get there first, we can intercept."

"Just let 'em burn," Jazz chuckled, "Maybe they'll get their fill of blood from them."

"We've _all_ come from genesis ports," Ruby suddenly spoke up in a timid voice, "All those people...what if the people in this world before us let us die? We can't just let them perish!"

"Bullshit," Jazz spat, "Luck of the draw! Going towards those sons of bitches is suicide!"

"I don't care!" she exclaimed, "Are we just gonna let all those people walk right into their fates? They don't know what's going to happen! We can save them!"

"As long as those _fucking_ machines stay distracted with the genesis ports, we, here on Planet _FUCKING_ Earth, have a chance to survive! We can't take on the whole armada! It takes the combined efforts of all of our forces, and sometimes even the help of the _Ring_ , to take down the stragglers. To challenge the whole armada at once with no support from Beta Company _or_ the _Ring_ , our two most effective weapons is nothing but signing away our death warrants. Now, I dunno about you, Ruby, but I'm not quite ready to die yet! Not again!"

"He's right, Ruby..." Spyro replied, "It'll kill us if we take them all on at once..."

"Ruby..." Rapid sighed, "I understand where you're coming from...and I do agree with you...but we're the only real hope to take on the Reapers...we can't destroy them all...not at the same time..."

"We need to do something..." Ruby frowned, "Please...anything?"

"We'll retaliate only if genesis ports open on Earth..." Jazz grimaced, "That's the most we can do."

"But all those people..."

"Least it'll be quick and painless..." Jazz chuckled, "Shit, they won't know what hit 'em."

"If I may continue..." Bleu spoke up timidly, "We've _been_ studying genesis ports since the Capstone Crisis...and we've noticed some...signs. Something that all genesis ports have in common..."

"And...? Why won't you just tell us? Stop beating around the bush and just tell us, huh? We ain't got all day," Jazz growled nonchalantly.

With a sigh, Bleu replied, "We have some evidence that may hint towards a future genesis port opening up _on_ Earth. Now, it may not be as big or severe as the one that caused the Capstone Crisis, but we need all forces on alert...who knows how many of those...things...will come."

"Where's it opening?" Dash asked.

Bleu and Fox exchanged glances before finally saying, "Above the Gothics...now, we have initial signs of a potential opening. There's no guarantee it will, obviously, but we still need to be ready in case it does."

"Fox," Spyro asked, "Contact our forces on the _Ring_ , tell them to put it on standby and to be ready for anything..."

"I'll contact the forces on Martaan, get Beta Company warned and ready," Bleu replied with a nod.

"We'll head to the Gothics and tell our forces there to get ready," Rapid said, "Let's hope it won't happen."

"We're all praying on it," Bleu replied with a sad nod.

As Alpha Company left the command center, heading across the military district and back to Club Camelot, Spyro and Cynder pulled aside Ruby, who had been straggling at the back of the group, her mind occupied. "So..." the purple dragon began, voice cold, "You want to tell us what happened last night?"

Ruby said nothing.

"Ruby?" Cynder began, voice worried.

Spyro glared at the she-dragon but ultimately said nothing.

Finally, the dolphin sighed, "It's nothing...not anything important anyway."

"You tried to suicide..." Spyro frowned, "Why?"

"You know why..." the dolphin responded in a tiny voice, almost too quiet to be heard.

Both Spyro and Cynder exchanged glances, but while the she-dragon looked away, knowing very well she was in no position to take part in the conflict, Spyro looked fiercely, angrily at the girl, "You _do_ realize that we are _all_ suffering from Alex's death, right? It's not just you...we _all_ lost someone important to us. Do you see the _rest_ of us running out to off ourselves?"

Ruby could barely contain herself as she struggled not to break into tears, "You don't understand..."

"Bull _shit_ we don't! Don't you think that _we've_ lost people important to us?" he growled.

"Damn it, Spyro! At least you still have me!" Cynder finally exploded, "Ruby lost the only person she really cares about, this is a little different..."

"No it isn't, Cyn. She still has Sapphire, if she was that desperate, she'd go for him."

"There's more to it than that..." Ruby spoke up, "Sapphire may do well for my...urges...but Alex...he was more than that...yes he was my mate but I...he was the only person who really _loved_ me. It's more than just some...short-term pleasure! I loved him and he loved me! I didn't just lose my mate, I lost the love of my life! I _know_ you can't say the same! You still have Cynder!"

Spyro only shook his head, storming away angrily, "You know what, Ruby? If you're really gonna sit there and try to off yourself just because you lost him...go right ahead. We're not gonna stop you."

"Spyro!" Cynder exclaimed in shock, and she turned to face the horrified dolphin, "He didn't mean that..."

"Like you have any room to talk," the dragon called back, spitefully, "Or did I just hallucinate that whole encounter in the shower."

"We are grieving, Spyro, I'm sorry he didn't mean as much to you as he did to me..."

"You don't think he did, Cyn? He meant a lot to _all_ of us, but do you see _us_ hurting ourselves over this? Even _Piermont_ is stronger than that, and he was closer to Alex than all of us put together. If _Pierre_ can keep himself under control, I think you both can, too."

"Piermont is much stronger than you think," Cynder replied, "He's never showed us how strong he really is...I wouldn't put it above him to do that on purpose."

"Course he wouldn't show us, he hates us."

"He doesn't hate _anyone_ , Spyro," Cynder replied, "Well...except for maybe the Reapers...we all have our own dirty little secrets...but this isn't about him, this is about Ruby. Lay off of her, all right?"

"Damn it, Cyn, we're already going through enough hell already. It's hard enough keeping Alpha in one piece...and now our members are dying left and right, those who surviving are backing out. We need to keep our shit together...all of us...and at this rate, how long is it gonna be before we're dead? Rocket was right, the Reapers won't need to destroy us, we'll destroy ourselves...we need to find a way to stop it...to gain control of ourselves. I can't..." and his voice broke, "I can't keep doing this, how am I supposed to keep everyone together when we're falling apart!?"

Cynder smiled sadly, "Why do you think Alex chose you to be his second-in-command? He saw something in you that he didn't see in anyone else. He _knew_ you had the power to keep us strong...he knew you were the only one capable of keeping everyone together when he wasn't able to. Are you _really_ gonna prove him wrong?"

Spyro opened his muzzle to speak but ultimately fell silent. Finally, after several moments of silence, he turned to face Ruby again, "Just...keep it together, all right? At the very least until we can stop those machines..." and he stormed away, leaving both Cynder and Ruby behind. The she-dragon walked up to the dolphin, hugging her gently before carefully nudging her ahead.

As Alpha Company boarded their Hornet in preparation to leave for the Gothics, they were suddenly called down by Fox and Bleu, quickly racing across the tarmac towards them, "Wait!" the young dragon called, out of breath, the sun shining off of his bright, white scales.

Jazz, loading a crate of supplies onto the Hornet, walked over to the dragon, flanked by Rapid and an emotionless Piermont, "Hell you want?" the rabbit replied coldly, arms crossed.

The dragon, first one to arrive, looked absolutely horrified. Finally, Fox caught up, struggling to catch his breath. "I've got some very bad news..."

"What happened on Martaan?" Spyro exclaimed, stunned speechless.

"Beta Company was nearly wiped out..." Bleu sighed, "Fort Ozark is in ruins...the Reapers attacked a couple of weeks ago. They destroyed...everything."

"Is anyone still alive?"

Fox shook his head, "We lost all contact with Fort Ozark...sent a few teams out there to investigate...there's nothing. All our guys found were husks...even then, most of them were either starved or mangled beyond recognition...any survivors suicided before the Reapers could get to them."

"And Beta Company?"

"According to Fort Dane, some of our boys are still alive but..." Fox shook his head, "We lost most of our dragons and riders...those that escaped were the survivors...and the dragons on there are apparently pretty hostile to us now."

"What? Why?"

"Well...they lost so many...and they were always there for us...we weren't there in their time of need."

"Yeah? Well they better get their sticks out of their asses, this is a team effort," Jazz spat, "If we're going to survive, we can't have these petty little divisions...without Beta Company, we're fucked."

"You try tellin' them that..." Piermont chuckled darkly, "They'll rip you to shreds. You might as well count them out."

"We won't survive without Beta Company..." Spyro sighed, shaking his head, "We don't...we hardly have a chance now. Beta Company and the _Ring_ were all we had...they were our best assets against the Reapers! They're the only things that can take them down! We can't...we can't survive...not without them."

"Yeah? Well it's too fuckin' late, Spearow," Piermont growled, "We fucked up, so this is on us. I know my species...I know how Martaanean dragons are. We don't trust outsiders easily...leaving them to die by themselves, without any obvious sign that someone was willing to help them...regardless of whether or not we _could_ do anything...we betrayed them," he smirked, "So you might as well count them out."

"Is there anything we can do to win them back?" Bleu asked, but Piermont didn't respond.

Cherub spoke up, "Not unless you want to allow a serious body count...our best bet is to just...let them be. Our chain over them is broken, the beasts of hell are loose. Martaanean dragons have a notorious wrath...as do all dragons. After this massacre, they _will_ go no-holes-barred into the fire to avenge their brothers. The three tribes may have their differences, but our ancestors are biological brothers, we are all a family. They will _not_ let this massacre go unavenged, they will not stop until every last one of those machines is dead, or the dragons of Martaan are extinct. If you're expecting to restart negotiations and get them back on our side though..." she shook her head, "You might as well count that it. They are also notorious for holding grudges, and it'll be a _long_ time before we can successfully redeem ourselves. Don't try to communicate with them, it'll only spell doom for us."

"What are we gonna do? We won't stand a chance against the machines, not on our own," Spyro frowned.

"We have the _Ring_ , that'll just have to be good enough," Cherub replied.

"So what are we gonna do then, huh? Fire it on our own men? Fire it on the Gothics? If a genesis port _does_ open up above the Gothics, and every single one of those machines arrives on the scene...are you willing to fire that weapon and destroy our allies? Our people?"

"Sometimes you have to make sacrifices," Jazz replied, "If the choice comes down to either letting those machines destroy us, or destroying _them_ , I think it's pretty damn obvious what the smart choice is."

"You know what?" Spyro began, storming towards the rabbit, "This isn't the _Maxia_ , so you _BETTER_ drop the Shade King bullshit."

"Stay out of my face," Jazz replied, feigning a grin, "I'm thinking logically."

"Are we so sure that the Shade King is really gone? Cause you're sure sounding a _helluva_ lot like him."

Finally losing control, Jazz shot up from his seat, throwing his chair at Spyro and sending the dragon flying across the room. Instantly, the others of Alpha Company were upon him, restraining the furious rabbit, "I AM NOT THE SHADE KING!" he scowled, "Not anymore!"

"Then why are you acting like him?" the dragon replied, struggling to control his temper, "Killing innocents? The ends justify the means? What kinda logic is that? The Shade King firmly believed in completing his mission, regardless of the cost to his own friends. That is _exactly_ the mindset you have right now. That _IS_ the Shade King!"

Jazz's mouth twitched into a snarl before he finally sat back down again, wringing his paws, attempting to calm himself. After several minutes of silence, he finally said, voice eerily calm, "You know what, Spyro? Maybe the Shade King never did fully leave me..." and he smiled weakly, "But you know what else? Guess who installed the whole 'ends justify the means mentality' into me? It sure as hell wasn't the _Maxia_."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Alexander Samuel Vaughn..." he chuckled, "The legendary _Son of Satan_. If I'm the Shade King for my mentality...what does that make Alex? Ask anyone here, the ends justify the means with him...that is _always_ the way he's been."

"Bullshit..."

"Oh really?" Jazz smirked, "Ask your girlfriend, I'm sure _she_ can testify to that."

"You really gonna believe his bullshit, Cyn?" Spyro chuckled, "This bastard...two years ago, he tried to kill us. He was doing everything he could to bring us down. How many people died in the _Maxia_ 's rampage?"

"Spyro..." Cynder finally said, voice timid, "Alex..."

"Don't tell me you actually believe this son of a bitch!"

"He's right..."

" _What_!?"

"Don't be stupid, Spyro..." Cynder frowned, "Jazz...he's right..."

"How?"

"Remember what he said about the _Ring_...during the march to the Necropolis..."

"He's not the Shade King..."

"Neither is Jazz!" Cynder growled, "At least not anymore..."

"Glad someone is on my side at least," the rabbit smirked.

"Shut up!" Spyro hissed, "I'm still not beyond killing you."

"Really?" and he stood up, spreading his arms, "Then do it! You wanna kill me? You wanna be the big hero and put me down? Do it! But I wanna tell you something. You kill me and everything one here will know that what you did was cold-blooded murder. Terrias killed the Shade King...I'm just..." he shook his head, "I know what I did...and you know what? I regret it...every single day. I go to sleep...and it's plagued by nightmares of the atrocities I did as that monster. I regret it, I regret _all_ of it...and I can't even _begin_ to pay everyone back for what I did. If you killing me is what's needed to redeem myself? Then do it...I welcome it!"

Spyro grinned maliciously, "It won't even begin to heal the wounds you caused. Those people, all those that you killed...they're still dead. _Nothing_ will bring them back..." and he smirked, "You're worse than the Reapers..."

"Spyro, stop!" Cynder snapped, "Just...stop already!" and she abruptly stormed out of the room.

Alpha Company emerged above the Gothics nation of Rune just as the skies above began to swirl. The wind blew strong and powerful against them, making it difficult for the dragons to take flight, and Piermont stood on the cliffside of one of Rune's great mountains, staring blankly towards the vortex. A powerful, unnatural storm was brewing...the opening of a genesis port was imminent. From the vicious winds, he could almost make out a faint heartbeat belonging to his rider. The world was painted in dull-colored auras, once more blinding in intensity to his vision. The life forces from the world around him taunted him relentlessly, mocking him for the loss of his rider. He could almost physically feel the last threads of his sanity undoing themselves...soon, there would be nothing left.

"C'mon you mechanical sons of bitches..." he chuckled darkly, "Come on here and fight...I welcome it. Only one of us is gonna walk away from this fight, and quite frankly, I don't care who. Go ahead, find a reason to piss me off...a dragon's wrath is unmatched, especially one who's been bonded and separated from his partner. I survived the initial stages of separation! I have nothing to lose! So let's duke it out, eh? Man to man! I will rip you cocksucking motherfuckers to pieces!"

Rocket's team, having decided to join the fight, stood around in the rolling green plains between cities, eyes turned towards the rotating clouds. Great power seeped from the storm, an electric feel shook them to the bone, it was only a matter of time until the genesis port opened, and with it, the Reapers to come. Rocket exchanged determined glances with Quill, wordlessly acknowledging the imminent showdown with a nod of the head. If they fell victim to the Reapers, they would make sure that they took as many of the machines down with them as possible.

From out of the nearby woods, Bleu and Fox approached the gathered Alpha Company, saying, "All right, camp's up, hopefully the Reapers don't decide to do a little spelunking."

"Any idea what's gonna happen?" Rocket asked, "Cause in terms of fightin', this ain't my first rodeo but...never done any shit like this before."

"It's only a matter of time before a genesis port opens," Fox sighed, "Everything's in place and ready for it, there's _maybe_ a two or three percent chance that nothing will show but..." he shook his head, "There's still a _lot_ of energy saturating the air...more than enough to attract the attention of the Reapers, regardless of whether a port opens. One way or the other, we're soon gonna have a fight on our hands."

"Anybody seen Piermont?" Cynder asked, looking around at the rest of Alpha Company.

"HAHAHAHAH! That's right!" Piermont cackled maddeningly into the worsening wind, howling deafeningly around him, "C'mon down! It's huntin' season! Let's go! C'mon you cowardly motherfuckers! Ya ain't _scared_ are ya!?" he threw his arms open, "Let's tango! I'm wide open for ya!"

Suddenly, great, purple streaks of lightning struck the rocky terrain around him, and he watched, eyes wide with an unleashed insanity as the very sky seemed to split its seems, revealing a blinding white glow on the other side. The clouds soon opened, unleashing a rainy hell upon the world, water and ice mixing together and pelting the flesh of any caught beneath its mighty wrath. It was as if mother nature herself had unchained hell onto the earth's surface. The interdimensional split slicing through the sky warped and began to open, morphing the sky around it to accommodate the arriving universe.

"WHERE ARE YOU!?" Piermont roared, "Show your faces so I can shoot 'em off!"

In a blast of electric heat, teleportation spheres opened around him, dumping the Reaper fleet into the storming skies above the Gothics. Their mechanical trumpets blared in unison, far too many to count, as the machines formed a blockade between the earth's surface and the open genesis port. Piermont remained on the ledge, unnoticed, even as he screamed and protested his pointless challenges, an insatiable thirst for violence and bloodshed clouding his judgment and all but hijacking his body and mind.

"Looks like the welcoming party's here," Rocket replied, popping his neck as he charged towards Quill's ship, mantling into it and ordering takeoff.

"Wait! Wait!" Dash exclaimed, running up to them, "You can't go in there!"

"Why the hell not, huh? Outta the way, horse!" Rocket growled.

"The E.M.P's will fry everything in the area, including your ship! Get it out of here and we'll let you know when they hit."

"You know, it might have helped to tell us this _before_ the hole opened in the friggin' sky!" but with a groan, the raccoon called into the ship, "Let's stand back for a moment, Quill, before the energy waves coming off of the vortex fry everything on this hunk of junk."

"Enough fuckin' foreplay!" Piermont roared, "Let's get straight to the fun shit!" and he rapidly transformed into his natural form in a flash of heat and light, alerting the surrounding Reapers of his presence. As he was about to jump off the side of the building to take flight, he suddenly remembered his lame wing from his encounter with Pyre, rendering him flightless. With an animalian growl, the dragon continued, "Guess we'll have to do this the hard way, huh? Come down here you sons of bitches! It's dismantling time!"

Three Reapers hovered into position before him, all of them charging their cannons in preparation to fire. At first, his expression was one of horror and fear before it quickly dissolved into one of sadistic enjoyment. With an almost audible click, the world suddenly went into slow motion, his senses became hyper-aware, and he readied himself for the assault. Finally, one of the ships locked onto him, preparing to fire, still experiencing the world in an extremely concentrated state, the dragon leaped off the mountain's edge, returning to his human form in midair and grabbing onto one of the legs of the machines. He quickly and gracefully scaled the machine until he reached its head, allowing him a small ledge to cling to. The machine struggled and fought to dislodge the beast and throw him off, trumpeting in irritation shortly before the machine that had locked onto him fired. He flipped off of his mount, rolling over the beam of plasma and landing smoothly on the ledge built into his assailant's head. The beam it fired ripped through it's ally's shields and hull, blasting a hole all the way through its body. As the slain Reaper fell to the ground, crashing in the countryside and nearly flattening Alpha Company below, Piermont baited an attack from the third Reaper, luring it into destroying its comrade.

By now, he had attracted the attention of every machine in the party, quickly learning from his tactics to prevent the agile and maddened beast from destroying them single-handedly. Down below, Alpha Company, dumbfounded and nearly panicking, raced to catch up to Piermont, hoping to get him to safety from his precarious position. Before they could reach him, dropships arrived to deposit a fresh wave of husks and Indoctrinated, rapidly encircling Alpha Company and moving inward. With the mutants distracted by the Reapers' shock forces, Piermont continued his onslaught against the machines, in stamina seeming almost bottomless as he moved with eerie speed, agility, and grace, devising and cleanly executing complicated strategies on the fly, through his grief-induced state.

Spyro soon became distracted from the chaos on the ground to watch Piermont's actions with shock, surprise, and fear. _Now_ , they were starting to see what the dragon was _really_ capable of...

The dragon took on the Reaper ships single-handedly, carving through their forces with relative ease, proving himself to be a master strategist, capable of successfully carrying out an effective battle plan without any prior planning. His awe soon dissolved into fury at the realization that the human-form dragon was fully capable of this, and yet he purposely acted stupid and sat out in vital decisions. If he would have actively participated...how many lives could they have saved in their past encounters? Could they have ended or at least severely weakened the Second Civil War before it even _occurred_? Why had he been hiding this from them for so long? Was it to spite his comrades? Or could it have possibly been to fool his enemies into thinking he was the weakest link in the group when his strategic and tactical ability matched if not exceeded that of Alex?

The purple dragon was ripped from his thoughts as a husk pounced upon him, snapping relentlessly at his neck and throat, chattering in its mechanical growls and cackles. Spyro quickly wrapped his tail around the humanoid creature's neck, snapping it completely around until the corpse collapsed on top of him as a dead weight, reeking of rot and decomposition. Throwing the corpse off of him, Spyro flipped back into action, devouring the charging husks in hungry flame.

It didn't take long before the Reapers grew weary of Piermont's blitz assault. After he had downed around five to seven of the machines, the rest of the fleet concentrated solely on him, organizing themselves into a more efficient and deadly force. Knowing that the hivemind was working against him, Piermont tried to decide how he was going to adjust to this previously overlooked variable. Finally, realizing he had no other option, he took a leap of faith, diving off the machine shortly before it was damaged, not destroyed, by its comrades. As the ground rapidly approached him, he closed his eyes, smiling in pleasure, he had done his duty. Before he could strike the field, however, he found himself crashing painfully into a metal structure, and he rapidly looked around to find Rocket standing beside him, flipping him a thumbs up, "Straight tens on the entrance. Nice!" and the raccoon turned to face Quill, "A'ight! Let's light 'em up!"

The battle went on for several more minutes before the machines, having lost more than they gained,, decided to pull out of the area in defeat. As they vanished from the sky, one-by-one, Piermont sat in one corner of Quill's ship, arm resting on his leg, staring off towards the floor between his feet, in a daze. "Where we goin'?" he finally asked, breaking from his trance.

"Saw something falling from the sky just south of here," Quill replied, "Gonna see what happened," and after several minutes, "Jesus Christ...Yo! Rocket! Come check this out!"

The raccoon hopped up onto his rear legs, making his way to the nearby cockpit. Piermont stumbled in behind them, eyes widening at what he saw. Beneath them, on what used to be just open ocean south of the Gothic cluster, a large, wide continent spread out in a crescent moon shape towards the rest of the Gothics, marked by tall peaks and large, green hills. The new continent itself was shrouded in darkness, and shrouded in fog.

"What the hell...?" Quill began, "Where did _that_ come from?"

"Must be what the genesis port decided to give us...how friggin' thoughtful..." Rocket snarled.

"Maybe we'll check it out later," Quill replied, "For now, let's get back to the others before they lose their shit thinking we left 'em behind."

"Like they'll care..." Rocket scowled, plopping down in the copilot's seat, "They'll just warp their asses back to New Alexandria and leave us sorry sons of bitches down here."

"That's why you should _fix the damn warp drive_!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Rocket waved him off, "I'm workin' on it. Shit takes time you know...'specially in this primitive planet...no offense. Anyway, before we leave, wanna scavenge that steel graveyard down there...might finally get the parts I need to get that cannon up and running."

As dusk fell upon the world, rapidly darkening the medieval earth around them, Alpha Company set up a camp in the heart of the clearing, intending to keep an eye for the Reapers' return. While Fox worked with Cynder, Ruby, and Rapid on supper, Jazz, Nala, and Keisha were out hunting, and Cherub, Spyro, and Aria worked on collecting firewood, Rocket, Quill, and Bleu were out walking around the corpses of the slain Reapers, Rocket ticking off a shopping list of components he had scrawled on a napkin as they found them. While working on trying to salvage some wiring from one of the steel corpses, Rocket groaned in disgust.

"What's wrong?"

"These things...they're organic..Quill, gimme a light..." While the human angled the flashlight to shine more onto the deeper wiring that Rocket was working with, the raccoon illustrated his point by cutting one of the wires, slick with some kind of gelatinous residue, appearing and feeling like a muscle or tendon. Upon severing it, he watched in further disgust as the severed ends of the wires twitched and squirmed towards each other, attempting to heal, making a squelching sound in the process.

"That is really...uh..." Quill began.

"That is fuckin' disgusting..." Rocket replied, shaking his head, "Unfortunately, I need these wires."

"Why?"

"Cause most of the wiring on the cannon is fried to hell. Salvaged as much as I could but...well even _I_ sometimes can't make useful shit out of heaping piles of junk."

"It's getting late," Bleu said, "We should probably head back to camp before the animals come out. We can finish this tomorrow morning."

"I guess...I'm just worried it'll be too late," the raccoon responded.

"What do you mean?" Bleu asked.

"Cause these things have a really quick deterioration time...literally every friggin' second counts when it comes to this...why the hell do you think I brought this?" and Rocket finally lifted the clump of wires, looking like and even flopping around like a pile of intestines, out of the machine, gently lowering them into a cooler that he had brought with them, closing the lid with his feet and proceeded to wipe his slimy paws on the grass.

"Oh gosh..." Bleu began, struggling not to vomit.

"It's not too bad...once you get used to it..." Rocket replied in a sickened tone, "Think of it like you're just digging out a big-ass clump of worms."

"That doesn't help!" and the dragon ran off behind another one of the felled machines, doubling over and emptying his stomach.

They finally returned to camp, finding the others already digging into the large pot of stew that the girls had just finished. "Vegetables and venison," Cynder replied, nodding towards them before digging into her bowl, "It's good stuff."

"Thanks..." Quill replied, walking over to the nearby stream to wash his hands.

Armed with supper, Rocket took a seat beside Ruby, staring into her bowl with a distant, sad gaze.

"Everything all right?" the raccoon asked her, sipping from his bowl.

The dolphin reluctantly nodded, "I'm fine...enough."

"What's wrong, Ruby?"

"Same thing that's been wrong for the past year..." she sighed, a very light, delphinic squeak in her tone, "I miss Alex..."

"Try not to think about him...think about eh...oh I dunno...puppies and kittens or...somethin'..."

"I've tried...but every time I try, my mind keeps going back to Alex..."

"Y'know...lamenting over his absence ain't gonna bring him back...sooner or later you're gonna have to move on."

"I don't think I could ever find someone to replace him..."

"Hey, there's other fish in the sea..." and after a few seconds of silence, "No pun intended."

"If only you understood..." she whined unhappily.

"Like I said, I've lost people I cared about, too. Sometimes all you can do is just push it aside and never return to it."

Ruby then began to tear up, "He meant the world to me, Rocket...do you know what that's like?"

Silence for several minutes before Rocket admittedly shrugged, "Can't say I have...don't have a girlfriend. Never sought one."

"Why not?"

"Cause women are all the same...they just sit there and chide you for stupid shit, then bog you down when you're trying to do your job. I don't like people questioning me, but women don't seem to get the point. They insert themselves in your business then pry a wedge between you and whatever the hell you're working on. More trouble than it's worth."

"You never wanted love?"

"Love? Why the hell would I need that?" he chuckled, "Now pleasure? That's a different story...but it ain't real high on my priority list. I got better things to worry about."

"Have you ever considered changing your mind? Finding someone to settle down with?"

He shrugged, admitting, "A few times..." then he further added in a much quieter tone, "More since I got here."

"When all of this blows over...if we can stop the Reapers and we move on..." Cynder suddenly interrupted, "Are you guys gonna stay here with us or head back to your homeworld?"

"Hell I don't know," Rocket replied, soon interrupted by Quill.

"Don't want to be held prisoner on a single planet for very long, I get cabin fever, so we'd probably take off..." and he glared at the raccoon, "As soon as _Rocket_ here gets my warp drive fixed."

The raccoon, drinking from his bowl, merely slipped his friend the middle finger.

Soon, Alpha Company resumed their normal conversations, having lost interest in Rocket. He took this opportunity to try and continue his previous conversation with Ruby, who had once more slipped back into her distant, depressed stare, "As I was tryin' to say...keep your chin up, there's more guys out there that would be more than happy to take care of you, and I guarantee you anythin' that they can and _will_ fill the void left by your Alex."

Ruby smiled sadly, "Those are some big shoes to fill..."

"You'd be surprised what people are capable of...if they love you, and you love 'em back, if they got that chemistry going on, you'll find that, even if they don't replace the memories that Alex gave you, they will at least serve to help you move on."

"Thank you..." she replied, blushing, "It...really means a lot to hear you say that."

He shrugged, "Don't give up hope just yet...never give up hope. I'll give up hope the moment I take my last breath, you should do the same..." and he repeated, "We've _all_ lost people...some more than others."

It was here that Rocket noticed something strange...the way Ruby looked at him, the way she smiled towards him...he shook his head, refusing to accept any possibility that she had taken an interest in him. He was better off alone, and she was better off without him. He had a way of losing people that got too close to him, and he thought it better if nothing happened between them. Still, the fact she seemed almost shy around him couldn't help but to make him wonder. Her mood only seemed to lighten, at least somewhat, when she was either around him or the raptors. Filing this away for a later time to mull over, he rinsed his bowl out in the river and clambered towards his tent, calling to the others, "I'm goin' to bed."

 _Rocket opens his eyes to find himself laying on the hard, baked ground of a desert. Swearing beneath his breath, he picks himself up, brushing the dust off his hands and looking around. Where was he? None of this looked familiar..._

 _Instantly, he hears the screams and cries of the dying, mixing with the clang of steel on steel against the occasional blast of a gun._

 _What is going on?_

 _He stumbles through the canyon he's in, exiting out into a wide, open desert, stretching for miles and miles around, outlined by mountains. The world is frozen at twilight, and as he looks around, his jaw drops as he sees millions of mangled bodies lying around. The battlefield reeks of blood and burning flesh, and he can do little but watch in horror as two forces clash merely a stone's throw in front of him. At the front of one of the armies is a tall, thin man, clad in charred black, steel armor, wielding a mighty sword and with large, black-feathered, eagle-like wings extending from the middle of his back, currently folded. Only this armored warrior, perhaps the army's general or commander, seems to notice his presence, and for a few breathless seconds, the two lock eyes. In his, Rocket can see an odd familiarity, as if he knows the man from somewhere, but hasn't seen him in years. What alarms him most is the man's eerie appearance: flawless skin as gray as ash, and eyes the color of drying blood._

 _Suddenly, a man, about the same height as the armored warrior, clad in a blood-stained tunic, shoves his way through the crowd, calling, "Messorem! Lucifer's forces are converging on our flank! We need you to help our men back there!"_

" _Raziel," the armored man replies in an eerily familiar voice, calm and serene, like soothing, summer wind, but also spiked with a flair of superiority and power, "I shall be with you shortly."_

 _Raziel nods, "I shall see you there," before hurrying off._

 _The feathered creature, Messorem, nods towards Rocket, "You...you must help us. You are connected to them...you can communicate with us...tell the others..."_

" _What? What the hell are you talking about?"_

" _Tell the others that we need their help..."_

" _Tell who? Alpha Company? Who's help? Who are you?"_

" _Please...tell them. Tell them that Necrodusk sent them, that Necrodusk needs their help. Give them this message..."_

...However, Rocket's eyes snapped open as he awoke in a cold sweat. Matting down the fur on top of his head, spiked up from his tossing and turning, the raccoon blinked around the interior of his tent, trying to piece together what had just happened. There was something strange about that dream...as if it wasn't a dream after all...

He shook his head, deciding to briefly step outside to get a breath of fresh air, hoping to clear his mind. He wondered what the message was that he was suppose the give, scowling at the fact that he had awoken before it had been passed to him. Upon slipping out of his tent, finding the camp empty and the fire dying within its bed of stones, the raccoon placed his paws around his hips, breathing the cold, crisp air deeply, finding that with each breath, more of the dream was wiped clean from his mind...clearly it wasn't important.

As he turned to head back inside his tent, a faint sound caught his ear, almost like singing. His ears perking at the sound, he tried to pinpoint where it was coming from, deciding that he seemed to be coming from behind his tent. Alarmed, quietly reaching just inside of his tent to withdraw one of his pistols from his satchel, he slowly crept around his tent, surprised when he caught Ruby sitting on the river bank, quietly humming a soft tune, a lullaby. At first, he considered calling her name, then decided to, instead, creep up on her to ensure that she wasn't trying to commit suicide again.

Crawling on all four legs, he slowly approached the dolphin, freezing in place once he was several yards away from her. He quickly dove into cover behind a large boulder nearby, holding his breath when the grass rustled beneath him and Ruby's humming abruptly stopped. He waited for several moments until she began to hum again, and he, ensuring he remained much stealthier this time, pressed his body to the ground and crawled around the boulder, staying prone, hiding in the tall grass. He had almost a clear view of Ruby now, although he could only see her head from his position, she was looking towards the ground around her. He shifted his position enough so that he could see her, then felt his heart sink, his blood run cold, and his breath falter as he spied what she was doing.

Her belly was blushed a brilliant red, her genital slit was swollen, open, and damp, and he could see that she was using a stick to masturbate. His own face draining of color, he quickly, but quietly, turned around and made his way back to the camp, wanting to get as far away from her as possible, as fast as possible, without giving away that someone else was awake. He finally reached his tent, quickly scampering back inside and diving back into his bedroll, breathing short and shallow. It was definitely something he wasn't intending to see, but he found it very difficult to clear his mind of the image. As he began to relax again, getting more comfortable, he found himself listening in on her. Her humming became more sporadic and unsteady, and he could hear her quietly squeak and slightly moan as she reached her climax before silence completely fell over the glen. Soon, the only sounds in the air was the babbling of the river running past their camp and the crickets chirping.

Several moments later, he heard a dull splash and watched as her shadow fell upon the wall of his tent, quietly slinking past him and back to the tent that she shared with Sapphire. For another hour he remained awake, his mind constantly going over what he had witnessed before he finally managed to relax enough to drift off, finding that the dream did not return.


	17. Chapter XVI: Succession

_**Chapter XVI**_ **:**

 **-''Succession''-**

 **-New Alexandria, Montana-**

 **- _15 June 2014_ -**

 **- _0941 Hours_ -**

Ruby was comforted by Sapphire as they approached Town Center, the location of the schedule assembly. They had lost Alex the night before, he had finally given up and the last spark of life from his seat in the mutual mind bank had abruptly went out. She could sense that Sapphire was worried about her, that he was worried about her safety, but she nuzzled him affectionately, claiming that she was fine, even though she really wasn't. She and Piermont were the two hardest hit by Alex's passing, and although Ruby desperately tried not to think about it, there was too much going on and too much talk for her to forget.

Today was the day they gave the Terminator Militia over to Elliot, Alpha Company had decided that they were unfit to go on without the Commander at their helm, and with fighting breaking out between their ranks, it was best that they went their separate ways anyway. Alpha Company was her family, and Ruby was horrified to find her family deteriorating, but she wasn't even allowed a say in the matter, everyone, even Spyro, simply passed over her, thinking that her relationship with Alex was a distraction, that it biased her, and as such, she was unqualified to speak her mind. Although this infuriated her, Sapphire and Dash, the only two people on her side, tried to reassure her that everything would be okay.

She had been treated terribly since Alex's fall, everyone seemed to blame her for the event, claiming that if it weren't for her, he would have never gone down. She had been cussed out and screamed at more by her own family since Alex fell than she had ever encountered with anyone else before. Even the _Caeda_ treated her better, at least they acknowledged her as the valuable asset she was to them, not as the trash, the whore that everyone here thought she was. Only Dash and Sapphire stepped up to defend her from the rest of her family's hostility, even though there was nothing they could do. Nobody liked her, nobody trusted her. She felt guilty enough knowing that Alex sacrificed himself for her, she didn't need the constant reminders from the rest of Alpha Company, especially Piermont and Spyro, that if it weren't for _her_ , Alex would still be alive.

Even as she stepped up on her spot upon the bleachers behind Elliot's podium, the general himself currently readying for his speech, she was well aware of the rest of her family glaring at her in disgust, she was hated and unwanted. "Surprised you aren't dead yet," Spyro growled, "Thought you would be the first to go, either you or Pierre."

"Leave her alone, Spyro," Sapphire hissed.

"Piss off, she did this to herself, she did this to _ALL_ of us."

"It wasn't her fault."

"Like hell it wasn't," Jazz spat, "Alex is dead because that stupid whore couldn't get her head out of her ass."

Ruby looked away unhappily, forcing a cheery song to play in her head, trying to drown out their comments. Even as tears slowly trickled down her face, she still tried to find a distraction.

"Yo! Leave her the hell alone!" Dash exclaimed, shoving the rabbit aside and standing between Ruby and the hostile Spyro, "Alex did this to himself, she didn't do it to him."

"He gave himself up to save that horny bitch's life! That means that his death is on HER hands, which means she's guilty of murder!"

"Fuck off!"

 _Don't let them get to you_ , Dash thought reassuringly to the female dolphin, _They're just...grieving._

 _I'm a monster..._ Ruby replied.

 _No! No, you're not, you're not a monster._

 _They're right, Dash...if it weren't for me...Alex would have never fallen._

 _Don't blame yourself, he would have done that for anyone, not just you. Don't let them get through to you._

 _I don't belong here...I should have died._

 _Don't say that, Ruby! You're loved._

She smiled sadly, _Perhaps...but the_ Caeda _would say the same thing to me, too...when I was younger. That I was loved, that this was all for the greater good...we all see how that turned out._

 _Trust me, we're not gonna become what the_ Caeda _did._

 _You already have,_ Ruby replied, _Alpha Company has become the_ Caeda _, without Alex being our guiding direction. If they're left in power, they_ will _become what they hunt._

Silence fell between them as Dash looked away, physically saying, "I'm sorry, Ruby."

"Don't apologize for her," Piermont smirked, speaking up for the first time since Alex's passing, "This is all her fucking fault," he stepped menacingly towards her, "You'd better fuckin' hope I don't catch you by yourself. I'll fuck your little pussy-ass up so hard, I don't take betrayal very kindly."

"Piermont, enough," Dash spat.

Here the human-form dragon hopped off the bleachers, walking over to the mic on Elliot's podium. The entire square was full of people waiting patiently for Elliot's announcement, chatting among themselves, paying Alpha Company no mind. Upon reaching the podium, wearing a malicious grin, Piermont began, "Lemme tell you all a little story..." and the crowd instantly silenced, turning to face the dragon, "You wanna know what happened, right? Since Alex's death is big news, lemme tell you what happened," he waved towards Ruby, "You see this creature here? You can thank this stupid fucking dolphin."

"Pierre!" both Dash and Sapphire exclaimed in unison, Ruby's face paled considerably and she looked on the verge of fainting.

"Ruby killed him, plain and simple..." but he was cut off as Jazz appeared behind him, grabbing him forcefully by the neck and throwing him to the ground, "All right, enough's enough!" the rabbit hissed.

"So, the Shade King has a heart, huh?"

"Screw you!" the rabbit responded, "We're on national fucking television dumbass!"

"Yeah? Now the whole world knows that Alex was killed by his girlfriend!"

Jazz forcefully grabbed Piermont by the throat and pinned him up against the Second Civil War monument behind them, "Listen up you little cocksucker! Is Ruby guilty? Partially, but so is Alex. You must be a special kind of stupid to walk up on NATIONAL _FUCKING_ TELEVISION and make such a declaration! The whole fuckin' world doesn't need to know that we're at war with each other!"

"Too late," Piermont managed through a raspy chuckle, and Jazz abruptly dropped him, walking away, "C'mon rabbit! Where's that rage, huh? Can the Shade King come out to play? Come fight me bro, I dare you!"

When Jazz continued to ignore him, Piermont only laughed.

"Lemme tell you another story, too..." the dragon continued, "He never cared about any of his girlfriends either."

"Judging by his reaction to Sarah and Ruby, I'd say otherwise," Cynder replied.

"He never loved them, he only lusted for them. Notice how he stopped bitching and moaning about girls once he started getting some pussy. Even Sarah, who he did promise not to bang before marriage, he never talked to her, and he _still_ kept cheating on her behind her back...I say that's a pretty big show of what kinda person he was."

"Will you just shut it already, Pierre?" Dash spat, "You're making an idiot out of yourself!"

The dragon only fell silent, storming offstage, through the crowd, and into the southern business district. The onlookers whispered among themselves, and Dash could only sigh, shaking her head. Ruby stood in place, visibly shaken, "Y...you don't think he's right...he's _not_ right...is he? About Alex not caring about us..." Ruby asked, horrified, worried.

"He's just..." then Dash fell silent, only shrugging, "I don't know. Pierre's Pierre, that's all I can really say."

"But he does have points...did Alex really only care about us to mate?"

"Alex may think he's nothing more than an animal, but he's not," Cynder spoke up, "Alex really only tried to fool himself, and he mostly failed. Did he get a little obsessed with the pleasure? Yeah, he did, but at the same time, I find it really hard to believe that he didn't _love_ the people he was with...else he wouldn't have gone back to them. Not really sure what went on between him and Sarah, they chatted, but only when they had privacy, and it's pretty obvious he _did_ love _you_ , Ruby...there is no doubt that he loved you, it wasn't just about the sex between you two."

That night, Ruby entered the room that Alex shared with Dash, finding the Pegasus packing the few things she owned, "Dash? What are you doing?"

"Getting ready," she replied.

"Ready? For what?"

"Well...for a lot of us...me included...today is the last day we're spending here."

"What? Where are you going?"

"Back home," the Pegasus replied, "This place is cancerous, and I don't want to stick around with the memories this place brings back...the others feel the same. Most of Alpha Company is leaving, figured I'd hop aboard as well, got nothing here left for me, not anymore. You'd be best to leave, too...better for your health if you're not faced with memory of Alex everywhere you turn."

"Everyone's leaving..."

"Well, that's what the assembly was about, Ruby. Alpha Company is no more, Elliot's abolishing us tomorrow morning, as of tomorrow, we don't exist, we're defunct. Couple of us are staying with the Terminators, I know Jazz is at least...everyone else is...who the hell knows."

"So you're all going to leave then...just like that?"

"C'mon, Ruby..." and Dash turned to face the dolphin, "What is there to do? Alpha is gone, we're no longer part of the militia, time to move on with our lives. Time to go on to bigger and better things, closing this chapter of our lives for good."

"Alex would have never wanted us to leave..."

"Well, unfortunately, Alex can't really be here to defend anyone. I tried the best I can to stop the mass exodus...but no one listens to me anymore. I'm tired of trying, I've got other things to do, other places to be."

"Wasn't Spyro supposed to succeed Alex in the event he was unable to command?"

"Both Spyro and Cynder are gone, Ruby. They left shortly after the meeting, they're _long_ gone."

" _What_!? Where did they go?" 

Dash shrugged, "Who knows, back to the Realms I'd imagine."

Ruby was paralyzed with shock at the news, although she had suspected that Alpha Company wouldn't be around for very long, she didn't expect everyone to leave so soon and suddenly. She and Sapphire were soon to find themselves completely alone, the only two members left in the city.

"Has Piermont come back yet? I want to apologize..." Ruby suddenly said.

Dash shook her head, "Nobody's seen him since he ran off...Elliot thinks he probably went off and suicided, I happen to agree."

"But we didn't feel him die!"

"We didn't feel Arian die either after Terrias passed," Dash said, "Arian just went missing, never to be seen again...same thing happened with Pierre. Cherub and Junior went back to Martaan, so I can't even ask _them_ if they've seen him anywhere...they've both severed all contact with the rest of the unit, odds are they know what happened, too, and they're just trying to remove themselves from experiencing proof of this, perhaps with a faint hope that he's still alive...somewhere."

After several moments of silence, Ruby asked in a grief-stricken voice, "When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning," Dash replied, "First thing."

"Wake me up before you leave...if anything so I can say goodbye..."

Dash nodded, "'Course..." then she asked, "What are you and Sapphire gonna do? You're not gonna hang around here are you?"

Ruby shrugged, "I...I don't know. I kinda knew that Alpha Company would break apart, but I didn't think it would happen so suddenly...and I didn't think that EVERYONE would leave...me and Sapphire...we'll be the only ones left here?"

"You and Jazz, from what I've heard anyway," Dash replied, "Maybe a couple of others..." then she added, "You know, you two should get out of here as well."

"Where would we go? This was our only home, Dash."

"Well..." and Dash sighed, "I guess you're right..."

"I don't want to leave...this is my home..."

"But can you look around and not be reminded of Alex? That's why most of us are changing the scenery, we'd rather not have to relive the same painful memories all the time. Anyway, what you two decide to do is ultimately up to you, I'm merely suggesting how I feel in the matter."

"We don't really _belong_ anywhere else, Dash...we're not even from this time."

"Well...maybe you two can get a good living spot up at the aquarium here in town? That way you're close to home and yet far enough away from the memories. I know you don't want to be show dolphins anymore, but I'm sure they'd understand...hell you two might even be able to get a private tank..." Dash chuckled, "Build your own pod together..."

Ruby sighed.

"Listen, Ruby..." and the Pegasus sat down beside her, nuzzling her affectionately, "I understand that the love of your life is gone...but it's best if we just...move on. I know it'll be hard, but there must be something we can do, all living in the past will do is kill us."

"I just...I can't believe he's gone, Dash..."

"To be honest, neither can I. Figured any one of us would go before he did...but you know what? We'll get through this, don't worry. Time heals all wounds, we'll be able to move on, soon enough."

"And if we don't?"

"Ha...can't really say on that, I choose to have an optimistic approach on this. Generally, I'm an optimistic gal, so I don't know how to say anything on that. Just try to keep your chin up and keep on movin' girl. Things are always hard before they get better...it's a test of faith, you ask Rev about that and he will keep goin' for hours on end about it."

"Where's he going?"

"Last I checked, he was looking into getting tied on to a church a few towns away as a preacher...kinda cool. The first animalian preacher, kinda funny if you think about it, but cool that Rapid has such an opportunity. Shoot, he might be able to bring people and animals together, finally live in harmony at last, how neat would that be..." then, "And I want to emphasize again, Ruby...none of this is your fault. None of what happened was your fault...don't let anyone tell you differently, got it?"

The dolphin nodded reluctantly.

"Awesome," the Pegasus replied, standing up and stretching, "Anyway, I need to get some sleep, got a full, busy day tomorrow...you should, too, huh? Try to sleep off the events of today, things will be better tomorrow morning, I promise."


	18. Chapter XVII: Ghosts and Echoes

_**Chapter XVII**_ **:**

 **-''Ghosts and Echoes''-**

 **-New Alexandria, Montana-**

 **- _04 May 2015_ -**

 **- _1409 Hours_ -**

" _Ruby...are you awake?"_

 _The dolphin cow opens her eyes to find herself laying in Alex's bed. Not remembering how she got there, she looks around, gasping as she spied her mate in bed beside her, smiling widely at her, "Alex..." she manages._

 _Here, the young man sits up, completely nude, and she blushes at the sight, trying to pry her eyes away from him, finding herself unable to._

" _What's wrong?" he asks with a light laugh, "You act as if you've never seen this before."_

" _It's been so long..." she replied, gently touching his bare chest, feeling warm, "I'm dreaming again...aren't I?"_

" _You're only dreaming if you believe it, sexy," he responds, "But, y'know...if you want to see for yourself, you can touch me."_

 _She smiles sheepishly, gently tracing the scars across his chest, down to his stomach, and making her way further south. She recoils upon touching his crotch, and he only laughs at the response._

" _What's wrong? It_ does _belong to you after all."_

" _Not anymore..." she replies sadly, "It's Sarah's...I'm just leasing it."_

" _You know I won't leave you, right? How can I? You're my best friend, our relationship may be put on hold, and our nights together may be few and scattered, but I will_ never _leave you."_

" _Alex..." she sighs, "Please come back to me...I'm tired of waking up to find you're not there."_

 _He frowns, replying, "You know I would if I was able to, Ruby."_

" _You escaped the Devil's Arena right?"_

" _Well, yes...but I'm not_ in _the Devil's Arena...there are no immediate escape routes from where I am right now. Besides, if I return, it'll just reopen old wounds that everyone else wants to keep closed."_

" _That's not true! We_ need _you, this army is falling apart without you! Elliot is dying, Heinrich doesn't know what he's doing! We_ need _you..._ I _need you..." and she falls into his arms, burying her head in his chest, "Please...if you're really gone...take me with you, I don't want to live without you."_

" _Ruby...you don't mean that," he replies, "You should be happy to be alive. You wanted a second chance and you got it, don't run away yet."_

" _We're all doomed anyway...the Reapers are unstoppable."_

" _No, they're not. They have weaknesses,_ everything _can be killed, you just need to find their weakness. Think of the Reapers like those giants from that game you liked:_ Shadow of the Colossus _. If it lives it can be killed, you just need to find and exploit its weaknesses."_

" _I have a question..."_

" _I have an answer," and he grins at her._

" _Where are you? Where did you end up? Are you in Heaven or Hell?"_

" _Neither," he frowns, "I don't even know where I am anymore...every day is so cloudy, I never remembered anything. It's like every hour my mind is wiped clean, hell, I hardly remember my own name half the time..." and he added, taking her fins in his hands, "But you...I never forget you, and when I see you...I remember. I remember the man I used to be, I remember who I am...and you don't know how much I want to see you, how badly I want to hold you again."_

" _That makes two of us," she replies with a sad smile, "And more, too...I want to feel you again, to cuddle and sleep in your arms. I want to feel you loving me, the hugs and kisses, the pets and strokes...and I want to feel the intimacy again...you're my mate, and I want us to reaffirm that sacred title. I miss you, Alex."_

" _I miss you, too, Ruby..." and he curls up beside her, throwing an arm around her and pulling her close to him. She smiles as she's aware of the heat of his nude body against hers, and she sighs in relief, "We'll be together again though, I promise. And when we are...I will_ never _leave you again. For now, I will stay here, cheering you on the sidelines. I've never left your side, I'm always there, watching, protecting...when you hurt yourself...it hurts me. Your life is a blessing, please don't throw it away."_

" _My life means nothing without you in it, Alex..." she sniffles, starting to cry, "You were the only reason I stayed alive...you_ still _are the only reason. Without you, I am nothing...I'm empty...a shell. You fill me, you complete me...I need you, Alex."_

" _I'm sorry I failed you," he sighs, placing his forehead against hers, as he gently strokes her face, wiping away her tears, "But in time...we will be together again. Just truck it out for a little while longer, okay? Maybe settle down with Sapphire while we wait."_

" _He knows that he can't replace you."_

" _Perhaps...but I never intended for you to complete separate yourself from finding love if something happened to me. Sapphire loves you, even if it doesn't seem like it at times, he cares more about you than anyone else has."_

" _Did he tell you this when you two mated?" Ruby replies cynically._

 _Alex chuckled, "What happened was a test, it was a way to prove our loyalty, as I'm sure you're well aware. I'm serious, though. Please don't give up, Ruby, keep fighting, and when your time comes, I'll be there to personally carry you into the paradise beyond, that's a promise. Until that day comes, I will always be here as your protector, your guardian angel, whenever you need me, call upon me and I will answer. Move on, find love and happiness, be with Sapphire, have the children that I was unable to give you, I know you've always wanted a big family. We will be together again..." and he hugs her tightly, "I love you, Ruby."_

" _I love you, too, Alex..." she manages through her tears, "Do you promise you won't leave me?"_

" _Of course I do...you're the love of my life."_

" _Don't leave me...I want to stay here with you...please take me away right now, sweep me away with you, so we can be together again."_

 _He shakes his head, "I can't do that, Ruby. You still have business here, but don't worry. We're preparing a special place for you, a nice romantic getaway. It'll just be me and you and our family, no one else."_

" _Will we be able to have children?" she asks in surprise._

 _He nodded with a slight chuckle, "Yes. When we get together again, we'll be able to have a whole house full of little kids...but only if you keep fighting."_

 _Her mood lightening a little, she smiles and nods, "I won't let you down..."_

 _He kisses her on the mouth, "I know you won't. You never have, you never will..." and as he pulls away from her, she notices that his form suddenly begins to cloud fade._

" _Will I see you again, soon?"_

" _In time."_

" _At least visit me in my dreams."_

" _I'll see what I can do," he replies, and in a flash of warm light_...

...She opened her eyes to find herself laying on the floor of Alex's bedroom. With a groan, she picked herself up into a sitting position, rubbing the sleep from her aching eyes and glancing around her surroundings. Alex's room had remained untouched since his passing, and she felt a certain stillness and solemnity in the air. Although it still looked the same it had almost a year prior, the feeling that it was long-abandoned and vacant saturated the stale, stagnant air. Outside, thunder rumbled and rain pattered down on the sliding glass door leading out onto the Commander's balcony.

"Oh shit! Is everything all right?" a voice asked, startling the dolphin, and she turned to spy Rocket racing up to her, taking a seat beside her.

"Yes," she nodded with a sad chuckle, "I'm fine..." but her voice trailed off and she crawled to the wall, sitting down and staring towards the empty room.

Placing a stack of vinyls down on the floor beside them, Rocket took a seat beside the dolphin, asking, "Talk to me, everything a'ight?"

She nodded again, "Fine as it could be."

The raccoon then nodded towards the room beyond them, "So this is Alex's room, huh?"

She nodded, holding her silence.

"I'm sorry for intruding...I didn't know..."

"It's fine," she replied with a sigh, "It's not like he needs it anymore..."

Silenced hanged between them for several minutes before Rocket finally asked, "So you loved him?"

"Very much," the dolphin replied, "He was my very special someone. He loved me more than anyone every could."

"Quite a statement," Rocket chuckled, then, "Tell me about 'em. What was he like?"

Ruby smiled sadly, "Well...he was unique, he seemed like he was mean and nasty, but deep down he had a heart of gold. All he wanted was to protect those he loved...to keep us safe from harm. I can only imagine what he thinks watching his brothers rip themselves to pieces when he spent so much of his life trying to bring us together."

"How did you two end up together?"

"Funny story, actually..." she replied sheepishly, and Rocket noticed that her body, especially around her lower belly, around her genital slit, was beginning to blush a brilliant pink, "We were destined to be together from the start...once upon a time, we were both angels in Heaven..." and she frowned, "Please don't laugh."

"I'm not, I'm listening."

"Well...he was the Grim Reaper, like in all the fairy tales..."

"And you?"

"I was his partner and lover, the angel of life. His name was Messorem..." and Rocket visibly stiffened at the name, although Ruby continued, not noticing, "My name was Vitam...he would harvest the souls of the dying, then give them to me so I could put them in the bodies of the newly conceived. Then one day, we fell in love, we got married...and we were happy together."

"So how did you two go from high and mighty angels to lowly mortals then, eh?"

"Vitam...I...made some mistakes, and he sacrificed himself to save me from punishment. His soul was torn in two, one sent down to Hell as the demon Necrodusk, maintaining all memory of his glory, while the other half was cursed through a constant sequence of reincarnations. Vitam was demoted from archangel to guardian angel...called Ruby...then when Alex was born, I was assigned to him. I made some more mistakes, I was cast down and thrown into the body of this stupid fish, then thrown forty years into the past to keep us separate as punishment. Alex went back in time to bring forth my mother to her human lover in the modern day, we met, and it was like love at first sight."

"Did you guys screw at the time?"

She shook her head, "No. He wanted to...we _both_ wanted to...but he was afraid to. Even then, although I was lusting for him, I was still a baby and didn't quite know what I really wanted. It wasn't until these evil men called the _Caeda_ kidnapped me and brought me into the present that he and I were brought back together again...although I was no longer a baby, I was all grown up. He and I became best friends, then one night..." she smiled and sighed with a slight whistle, Rocket noticed that the blush intensified, the lips of her genital slit swelled and parted to expose the bright, smooth, pink inside of her body, damp and shining in the dismal light, "Then one night, we mated...it was the greatest feeling in the world...we both enjoyed it."

"What happened after that?"

"We lived happily together, until the Reapers attacked and he fell into this great big chasm that opened up into the ground."

"You didn't see him die?"

"No, but we searched and searched for days to find him, ultimately failing. Then one night, we woke up to feel the pain of him passing away."

"You can sense each other's deaths?"

She nodded again, "Yes. When connected to the serum, we can sense each other's heartbeats, our emotions, our thoughts, our fears...When one dies and that connection is severed, a horrible, phantom pain rips through our bodies, as if we're being ripped into pieces."

"Sounds like it's not worth it."

She shrugged, "There are perks to the connection...for example, everyone knows what you're going through and they'll help you out of problems, you never feel truly alone because you can feel the others...there are also some...embarrassing and unpleasant consequences, too."

"Such as...?"

"When one of us is mating, everyone knows, and everyone can feel it."

"That seems messed up and really awkward."

"One grows use to it in time."

"So...when any of the couples here go at it...must really mess you up inside, huh? Remembering how it felt to be with Alex?"

"More than I could ever explain," she frowned, fighting back more tears, "But our relationship wasn't just about sex...it was..."

"You two loved each other."

"Very deeply," Ruby replied, "We were closer than really anyone here. We were best friends, and...well...I'll sound really silly saying this..."

"Go ahead, I ain't gonna laugh."

"Sometimes I feel vulnerable and exposed...weak and small. Alex would always tell me that he was there, that he would protect me with his life...ultimately...that's what he did, too."

"How did he fall, if you don't mind me asking."

"When the ground crumbled beneath the Reaper, we both fell into the chasm, catching onto this little root protruding from the ground. It wasn't strong enough to hold both of our weights, so he let himself go so I would be safe...I've felt so guilty about it since."

"No reason to feel guilty. He loved you and he paid the ultimate sacrifice for the one he loved, I'd do the same thing."

"It still hurts, knowing that he fell because of me...that if it weren't for me, he'd still be alive. I'm a great big screw-up, I was born with a deadly sickness that was meant to kill me. He mutated me to save me from the sickness...but sometimes I think it would have been better if I would have just died. I've hurt so many people because of my own stupidity. Even in his reincarnated form, Messorem still took the heat for his wife's stupid mistakes."

"So you don't love anyone else then, like as a partner?"

"How could I? Alex was my world, the only reason why I'm still alive today. I would feel so dirty if I betrayed him like that...though I admit, I wish that someone would make me feel happy and alive inside again, just like he did...that someone would protect me if something bad happens."

"I'll protect you."

"Really?" the dolphin squeaked in surprise.

"Yeah, you're my friend, right?"

She nodded.

"So why wouldn't I?" then he fell silent for several moments, finally saying, "I'm really sorry about what happened to Alex. Just wish there was something I could do to ease your pain."

"There's nothing that can be done," she sighed, "Things just...weren't meant to be. My entire life has been one misery after another, I should have known something was up if things were actually seeming to go right for me for once..." and without another sound, she stood up, heading towards the door leaving Alex's room. She stopped in the doorway then, and without turning to face the raccoon, said, "Alex does not need this room anymore...he won't be coming back...you should take it, it would be more comfortable than that old cot in that cold hangar..." and she finally left, leaving the raccoon alone.

After several moments, Rocket finally turned on his heels to look around the room. Everything was clean and eerily tidy, showing that Alex was a very organized individual in life. As he walked around, he stopped by the nightstand beside Alex's bed. Although it was clear that the young man didn't take many photos, he could see several framed pictures sitting in a bed of dust. One depicted Alex holding hands with a girl about his age, and the second showed the young man holding a tiny, baby dolphin, the left eye clouded over. This second photograph was noticeably older, and Rocket only assumed that perhaps the creature's trainer took it back in the past. Putting two and two together, Rocket soon came to the assumption that the baby dolphin was, in fact, Ruby, and he couldn't help but to contain a grin at the expression of pure delight and love on the calf's face. It loved the human deeply, and judging by the expression Alex wore, a genuine smile, something that was very rare, the Commander loved the creature just as much.

Also sitting on the nightstand was a pair of headphones and a remote control, a single Desert Eagle, and his battered dogtags, laying in a pile. Digging around the drawers, Rocket also stumbled upon two more sets of dogtags, reading the names inscribed upon them as Crash and Cheet. He also found the Commander's wallet, and upon opening it to find nothing in the cash pocket, three more battered photographs tumbled out of it. One of them showed a very young Alex cradling a cheetah cub, feeding it from a bottle, another showed Alex and that mysterious human girl again, and the third showed a teenage Alex, approximately fourteen or fifteen, standing in the middle of a field with his arm around a slightly older girl that was undeniably Zinnia. Were they romantically involved? Then who was the other mysterious girl in the photographs, they _definitely_ weren't of Zinnia, and they seemed rather recent, within the past few years anyway.

Replacing the items back in the drawer, Rocket crouched to the ground, pulling out the Commander's laptop. Turning it on, he was met with a password screen, and with a scowl, he proceeded to hack into the account. When the login screen finally disappeared, the raccoon was greeted with a bird's eye view of downtown New Alexandria, likely taken from the boy's balcony, highlighted in an eerie, fiery glow coming off what appeared to be a distant wall of lava. He quickly scanned Alex's personal documents, finding personal information on the rest of Alpha Company which Rocket only briefly scoured through, as well as other windows into the boy's life. He was incredibly orderly and organized, appeared to be writing a book, wrote poetry, and absolutely loved almost any kind of music imaginable. Digging further in, Rocket started to uncover much more personal things, copies of private love letters and emails between him and one 'Sarah', perhaps the other girl the raccoon had seen in the photos. He also uncovered various reports, a number of video games, and a list of important dates and events, the most recent date marking the 4th of July of the previous year. Under the date, he had typed 'Our Wedding'.

Diving into the logs of users, the last login had been back in June of 2014...so Alex had died before he could even attend his own wedding. Spending several hours digging through messages that Alex had traded with one General Elliot, Rocket was surprised to see mention of Ruby, but not in the sense that was to be expected. The messages, dated back in 2013, mainly consisted of Alex lamenting leaving Ruby behind in 1977, how he felt guilty at the act and wanted to try and bring her forward with him. As the raccoon read through these, one distinct message really stung him, 'I can't explain it, but there was something about her, something special. I shouldn't have left her back there, and I know you're gonna be pissed at me...but I think I love her.'

Moving on from the messages, Rocket also stumbled upon a collection of videos, showing the Commander performing in a dolphin show, guiding that same dolphin calf that had been in the photograph, as happy as it could be. Despite the injured eye, there was not a doubt in the raccoon's mind that the dolphin _was_ , in fact, Ruby. Skipping through the large collection of videos stored on the computer, Rocket was shown as the Commander trained Ruby to not only speak appropriate English, but also perform as a soldier. The attraction they had to one another was obvious, with the way they looked lovingly towards each other, and he briefly wondered if this was before or after they had mated. Also in these videos, dolphin was almost fully grown, and her left eye remained clouded over, how had she fixed that?

"The hell you doing in here?" a voice growled and Rocket looked up to find a human-form Piermont standing in the doorway, arms crossed, "This ain't your place, get out!"

"Ruby gave this room to me."

"Don't care, that stupid fucking dolphin has no say in what we do here, now get out before I put a fucking bullet in your head!"

When the raccoon failed to comply, Piermont pulled a gun on him, but action was instantaneous. Within seconds, Rocket had wrestled the weapon out of the human-form dragon's hand, sending him to the ground and dispatching him. At Piermont's protests, the rest of Alpha Company arrived to investigate, all staring the raccoon down viciously and asking the same thing that the dragon had.

"Ruby say I can stay here, don't see why I can't, no one else lives here."

"That's Alex's room," Spyro growled, "You don't belong there."

"Yeah? Well Alex is dead."

"It doesn't matter, you aren't staying."

"Why not?" Cynder suddenly asked, appearing behind them, Dash beside her, "Be nice to have a full house again."

"Don't fuckin' care!" Piermont hissed, "This son of a bitch ain't stayin'!"

"I second that," Spyro replied, "He's not one of us, and he ain't gonna stay very long anyway, he isn't living with us."

"Yes he is."

"Bullshit."

"Spyro, stop being such an ass. That's all you've been lately," Cynder scowled, "You're going off on everyone you come across. Cut it out!"

"I'm not the one who's cutting myself in the damn shower!"

"How about _all_ of you shut up!" Cherub growled, "Why can't Rocket stay with us?"

"You fuckin' serious, Cherub?" Piermont exclaimed.

"He's not hurting anyone."

"But that's _Alex's room_!" Spyro growled.

"Your point?" Cherub replied, "Listen, I'm sorry, but I find the whole thing with keeping that room a memorial to Alex's memory really fucking creepy. Even though I can understand where people would do that for their loved ones, it's still creepy. Besides, when it starts getting cold out, where the hell is he gonna sleep? That hangar isn't heated or even air conditioned for that matter."

"We bring this... _outsider_ in, and we'll end up bringing every fucking hitchhiker we come across in!" Spyro replied.

"Hey!" Rocket exclaimed, now angry, "If it weren't for me, Ruby would be friggin' dead! I saved her life!"

"Nobody cares about that stupid dolphin anyway," Piermont spat, "She's a walking corpse anyway. You just delayed the inevitable. She's _always_ been a fucked up little brat with some serious mental problems, she dies, ain't nobody gonna care, 'cept for maybe Sapphire, and even then, I don't give two flying fucks about that stupid cunt!"

"Pierre!" Cynder exclaimed..

"Oh don't 'Pierre' me you fucking nigger bitch!" the dragon hissed, "You know damn well that it's true! She's a fucking basket-case! She always has been, she always will be. Death will be fucking good for her."

"You know what?" Cynder asked, "Why don't you go fuck off and put a bullet in your _own_ goddamn brain! Ain't that what most of your fucking race does when their riders die?"

Piermont stormed forward to protest, Cynder remaining firm and steady in her position until Spyro got between them. "Outta my fucking way Spearow before I kick your ass, too!"

Jazz and Rapid suddenly arrived on scene, separating the two dragons and firmly holding them back.

"I can't believe it..." Rocket sighed, "How the hell are you standing even a remote chance against the Reapers? You idiots are snapping at each others throats, and quite frankly, I'm surprised they haven't killed none of you bastards yet."

"They have!" Spyro scowled, "We lost three of our guys, including Alex, to the Reapers!"

"Ever stop to think that maybe that's your own damn faults?"

"Why you little cocksucking son of a..." Piermont began before he was abruptly thrown back and pinned against the wall by Rapid.

"You guys are sitting here fighting and bickering like a bunch of little kids, and you wonder why the Reapers are kicking your asses! To take them down, you need to put aside your differences and come together. If not for yourselves, then to avenge Alex."

"Since when did _you_ care about Alex, huh?" Piermont growled, "You didn't even know him!"

"In the four hours I've spent looking into his life in that room, I might as well have."

"Why do you care about him? What importance did he ever have to you?" Spyro asked, his voice tinted with malice.

"Because he's important to Ruby."

Piermont then chuckled darkly, "I see...little chode has a boner for that stupid fucking fish. Well, you wanna fuck her brains out, why don't you ask her? Sure the little whore would be more than willing to spread her puss for you."

"Piermont! Enough!" Rapid hissed.

"Oh fuck you, Reverend! You ain't my fuckin' boss!"

" _EVERYONE_ shut up!" Cydner exclaimed, "Look at yourselves! Rocket's right, we're so caught up in fighting each other that we're not concentrating on the _real_ threat here!"

"Bathtub's right in the next room, hon," Piermont chuckled grimly, "I'll talk the little purple faggot into giving you your knife back, go ahead and cut yourself out of the fight. Sure you're no strange to a little cut and slice, huh?"

"I'm _not_ suicidal, Pierre," Cynder responded firmly, "Seriously, just take a step back and look at yourselves! This isn't us! This isn't what Alex would want from us!"

"ALEX IS _DEAD_!" Piermont roared, "What don't you _FUCKING_ understand!? Alex is dead, so Alpha might as well be, too!"

"No..." Rocket said, shaking his head, "He's not. He's still with you guys in spirit, in memory. Yeah, I didn't know him personally, but from what I've found out about him, he cared deeply for you guys. You were his family, you think he'd want you guys to kill each other like this?"

"All that's left of Alex are ghosts and echoes," Piermont replied coldly.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Pierre," Rocket replied.

"What the hell do _you_ think he is then, huh, smartass? Cause I know for a bloody damn fact that he ain't in Heaven. We're all destined for Hell. That's where Rev went, that's where Terrias went."

"Who's Terrias?"

"EXACTLY! You don't know shit about us, so why the fuck do _you_ care about who we are and what happens to us?"

"Because you guys are _supposed_ to be a family! And here you all are treating each other like absolute shit. You aren't enemies! Besides...I _do_ care about you."

"You mean you care about that motherfucking dolphin," Piermont spat.

"That, too, and all your fighting is accomplishing is hurting Ruby, so how about you idiots man up and stop being such an ass to each other!"

"Ruby is Ruby, she's offended by every little fucking thing that happens."

"You're still hurting her, do you not have any care at all? She's _still_ one of you, and most importantly, she was a part of Alex. By hurting her, you are, by extension, hurting Alex, think about it _that_ way!" and Rocket finally stormed out of the suite into the rotunda.

Rocket stood on the west balcony, head planted firmly against the banister, attempting to calm his nerves. A hot, humid wind blew past him, reeking of the recent rainfall. The door into the interior of Club Camelot shut behind him, but he didn't break his meditative state, trying to clear his mind and settle down. He heard the clattering of metal and opened his eyes to find a ring of keys sitting on the stained oak deck beside him. Only then did he turn to face his visitor, finding Cynder standing behind him, appearing sad and regretful, "I'm sorry for everything that happened back there," she said, "Tensions and emotions have just been high since Alex passed...you didn't deserve to get caught in the crossfire like that."

"I just...I don't understand how a family, supposedly one so close knit and tight can just completely unravel itself like that."

"Alex was the one that kept us together, he was the glue that kept all these diverse ideals and personalities together. Without him there to regulate everything, we've all collapsed into our own arrogance and pride...I don't condone their actions, but I _do_ understand where they're coming from, and I understand why they're so upset about letting you move in with Alex..." she then nodded towards the keyring, "Those are the keys to get into the elevator, Suite 1, and Alex's room...you are welcome to stay as long as you like...or not...it's up to you..." and she turned around, trotting back towards the door. Pausing just before it, she said, "One final thing...I really do appreciate what you're doing for Ruby...being there for her and all. Poor girl has been caught in the middle of this war with no one there to take her side...it means a lot to her that you're willing to stand there and help her through all of this, she and Piermont were the hardest hit by Alex's passing. Piermont's gone, but Ruby still has a chance..." she added, "If you two do...get together...I wouldn't suggest making it known, most of Alpha Company don't trust her, even when Alex _was_ alive...as I said before, though, thank you for trying to help us through this...for helping _Ruby_ through this..." and finally, without another word, she disappeared into the darkness of Club Camelot, leaving Rocket alone.


	19. Chapter XVIII: Indoctrination

_**Chapter XVIII**_ **:**

 **-''Indoctrination''-**

 **-New Alexandria, Montana-**

 **- _08 May 2015_ -**

 **- _0300 Hours_ -**

" _Child of our enemy, victim of our wrath, we come to you with an offer of peace."_

Rocket's eyes snapped open and he shot up out of bed, reflexively grabbing the pistol laying on his nightstand. He anxiously looked around the room, spying the curtains covering the sliding glass door leading out onto his balcony blowing in the nighttime breeze. With an annoyed grunt, he replaced the weapon and climbed out of bed, stomping over to the door and sliding it shut, tripping the lock. Rotating on his heels to head back to bed, he was assailed by that almost male, mechanical voice once again.

" _Join us and we will cease your suffering. Join us in this war, and we will free you."_

"Who's there?" Rocket snarled, racing over to the nightstand and grabbing his weapon once again, panning around the room, searching for the source of the omnipresent voice.

" _We are your future. We are your saviors. We will liberate you from the limitations of organic life. We will make you eternal. We will evolve you."_

"Show yourself! _NOW!_ "

" _Why must you resist? We come bearing peace, an offer for universal unity."_

The raccoon was suddenly aware of a highly irritating itch on his back, and although he tried to scratch it, he found the itch unreachable.

" _Submit to us and witness your evolution!"_

"You friggin' Reapers! That's what you are, aren't you? How are you doing this? How are you talking to me?"

" _You are but an incomplete prototype of our perfect vision. We will complete you. Join us. Become one with us. Become one with machine!"_

The itch only seemed to get worse, and still finding himself unable to relieve it, Rocket instead tried to take his mind away from it, to distract himself. Thankfully, this helped, and the itch soon morphed into a dull, aching pain, not necessarily unbearable, but highly unpleasant nevertheless. Following this, he felt his mind open up, as if someone had ripped off the cover he was hiding behind. He felt vulnerable and nude against the vast openness of his mind, as if the entire world could read his thoughts, and he was vaguely aware of a million voices droning faintly on somewhere within his mind, weaker than the creature speaking directly to him. He collapsed to the ground, covering his ears against the voices rambling on incomprehensibly. So many were speaking at once that they all meshed and blended together into a nauseating jumble.

" _And so, your evolution begins. Do not resist it, and you will soon become one with us."_

Rocket was the last one to come out of his room, finding the rest of Alpha Company sitting around the living room, eating breakfast. Nobody looked towards him, in fact, they went out of their way to avoid meeting his glance. Only Ruby, who was feeding the growing raptors, turned to face him, the dolphin smiling happily. Finally, Cynder broke the silence, asking, "How did you sleep?"

Rocket shrugged, "I've slept better."

"Bed uncomfortable?"

"No...mind's racing...like a million friggin' voices rambling on at once."

"You say as if you've never pondered the world before," Jazz smirked, sipping from a cup of coffee.

"I tend to be an 'act first, think later' kinda guy."

"Maybe the room's haunted," the rabbit chuckled, only to be painfully elbowed by Rapid.

"I don't believe in ghosts," Rocket spat.

"Do you believe in angels or demons?" the skunk asked curiously.

"I dunno, I'll let you know when I see one...anyway, you guys got any ibuprofen around here? Back's killin' me."

"Mechanic woes, huh?" Aria said, "I remember those days..."

"Yeah..." Cynder sighed, "They sucked. Glad Alex never stayed in that career path. Anyway, should have some ibuprofen in the medicine cabinet in Alex's bathroom, he always kept painkillers on hand for his burns and arthritis."

While Rocket dug out a bottle of painkillers from the medicine cabinet in his bathroom, he heard a soft voice speak behind him, "Did you sleep well?"

He turned around to face his visitor, spying Ruby standing in the doorway, her gloved fins crossed in front of her, giving her the appearance of a nervous child. "Well enough I suppose," he replied, "Looks like everybody still hates me, huh?" he smirked.

The dolphin shrugged, "They'll get used to you in time. They're always hostile to newcomers into their family."

"Why do you stay with them, Ruby? I've seen how they mistreat you."

"Because this is the only place I can really call home...and even though most of them dislike me, there are a few who still think of me as a friend, like Dash, Sapphire, Zinnia, Aphrodite...and Tiberius and Athena..."

"You're pretty forgiving aren't you."

She shrugged again, "Sometimes. Nobody is purely evil, it's just that some people find it easier to do evil things than good things. As for what's wrong with Alpha Company...they're hurting..." she frowned, "We all are in our own special ways. Me and Alex may have had the strongest relationship, but everybody loved him, we were all friends and family."

"You still think about him a lot?"

She nodded, "Of course...I still dream about him, too. I dream that he didn't die, that we're together and happy...I dream that he returns revealing that he never did die in the first place. I think about him all the time, how could I not? He's my mate, and we loved each other very much."

Silence fell between the for several moments before Rocket finally asked, "So how are you feeling today?"

She shrugged, "Numb. I'm not happy, but I'm not unhappy either..." and in a small voice she added, "I haven't been truly happy since Alex was still around."

"Sorry for bringing up the subject again."

"You're curious about him," the dolphin replied with a sad smile, "He was a very friendly person. He may not have trusted people who could hurt him, but he always took care of Alpha Company and treated us with utmost kindness."

"You ever thought about moving on from him? I know old wounds still ache, and I know that you lost the most important person in your life...but have you ever considered finding another partner? Another mate?"

She nodded reluctantly, blushing, "A few times...but they would have to be very special. Alex still holds a great big part of my heart...even if he _is_ gone..." her voice trailed as her childish smile dissolved into a frown, "I have met...a couple of people...who I kind of like...but I don't know how they'd react...or if they'd even accept me."

Rocket chuckled, "Shit, why wouldn't anybody like you? Sure you got a few quirks here and there but...hey, don't we all?"

"Thank you..." she said, smiling towards him, "That really does mean a lot...even if it's not really true."

"Well, keep your hopes up, you'll find someone to replace him, don't worry."

As Ruby turned to leave the room, she cast him a worried glance, whispering beneath her breath, out of his range of hearing, "I think I already have..."

Rocket left his room, heading towards the door leading out of Suite 1, ready for another day of work on the warp drive. Across the living room, Alpha Company was sitting around a cell phone placed on the coffee table, listening to Bleu on the other line, "We think we may have unlocked some of the secrets of the Reapers," the dragon began, "How they control people and such."

"Mind telling us?" Rapid asked, "Better yet, how do we stop them?"

"When do you think you guys can stop by the lab? It's something that you should really see for yourself."

Spyro sighed, finally answering, "Give us about an hour."

"All right...I'll see you then, you might want to bring that little raccoon friend of yours, too...I need to make sure everything's okay with him."

"What's so important about Rocket?" Cynder asked, "What are you worried about?"

Silence for several moments before Bleu finally answered, "You'll see...just bring him, I'll see you when I see you," and he hanged up.

"Hope you're not planning on going anywhere," Spyro snarled, glaring at Rocket.

The raccoon only shrugged, "Hey, if I can figure out how to stop the Reapers, I'm more than happy to sit through a crappy little meeting."

Upon entering the R&D lab located within the command center, they found both Bleu and Fox gathered around a Husk strapped to an operating table. It's jaws were clamped open, salivating profusely and gathering into a puddle around its head, and it writhed and twisted against its leather binds, trying to rip free.

"What'd you find?" Spyro asked, approaching them.

"Something quite interesting," Bleu replied while Fox finally pulled a pistol from his waist, firing a shot in between the Husk's eyes.

"We think we've started figuring out these machines operate," Fox replied, wiping the barrel of his handgun, coated in the gooey, black grime of the infected creature's blood, against a dirty wash cloth.

"And...?"

Fox said nothing, merely adjusted the table's light until it was shining on the creature's belly. Fishing a small power saw from the side table, the doctor lowered a clear plastic face guard, turning to face his visitors, "You guys may want to cover your noses...these things stink."

Following his warning, Fox gently lowered the saw to the creature's nude belly, flipping it on and slicing cleanly through the tough, rubbery flesh of the newly slaughtered Husk. The room was instantly filled with the sickening odor of a decaying corpse, and once he had completely cut the creature open from the throat to its mutilated thighs, he pulled the flesh apart, clamping it down and nodding for Alpha Company to check it out. They all reluctantly approached, nauseated by the stench but curious as to what the human doctor wanted to show them. Inside its body, the Husk's innards were little more than green-colored jelly melted together, with no possible way to discern which organs were which.

"How long has that thing been dead for?" Cynder coughed, "They don't deteriorate _that_ quickly do they?"

Fox nodded, "They do decompose fairly quickly, but the reason why I kept this little bugger alive is to show you what goes on inside while they're still alive...if you could call it that."

"This thing looks and smells like it's been dead for weeks..." Spyro shook his head, "What the actual hell?"

"That's just it," Fox replied, "Now check _this_ out."

Once more picking up the power saw, Fox cut through and eventually pulled off the creature's skull cap, revealing a discolored human brain encased in black slime. The majority of the brain looked dead and rotted, not as decomposed as the rest of the corpse, but still appearing as if it had been dead for quite some time. As the doctor peeled apart pieces of the brain, he pointed towards two large, tumor-like orbs in the lower part of the organ. Black, metallic tendrils spread out from the small orbs, completely encircling the brain and spiderwebbing down the spinal cord.

"What are we looking at?" Rocket asked.

"The amygdalae, the parts of the brain responsible for controlling emotions, as well as decision making and memory."

"They look cancerous," Cynder said.

"That's the thing..." Fox replied, "And after hundreds of hours of studying, we think this may be the explanation for the Husks' unwarranted and insatiable aggression. Now, come over here..." and he led them into an adjacent room. This one contained an indoctrinated man, bound to the table in a similar manner to the infected one. Two lab assistants were in here, and while one forced the indoctrinated man to expose his neck to his female partner, the second one picked up a syringe from the side table and injected a dark yellow, almost golden fluid into the creature's jugulars. Within a minute, and after a pained, mechanical roar, the creature writhed spastically, as if in a seizure, before stilling, its head rolling to the side. The female assistant then proceeded to cut open the creature's torso, while her male partner got to work on cracking and removing the braincase.

"Notice anything different?" Fox asked Alpha Company.

"Besides the fact they don't smell nearly as bad?" Jazz remarked, smiling grimly.

Rapid stepped towards the corpse, leaning down over and adopting an expression of shock and surprise, "It guts look almost...healthy..."

Fox nodded, gently moving the creature's head to the other side and pointing towards a metal tumor growing from the nape of its neck. Like the amygdalae on the infected in the other room, this tumor appeared to be the source of the metallic veins spiderwebbing across the creature's face and body, signaling indoctrination, "You see this? Once upon a time, this was a tracking implant...standard for all Terminator soldiers."

"What does this have to do with 'unlocking the secrets of the Reapers' like you promised us?" Piermont growled.

"Comparing an infected to an indoctrinated soldier, we've noticed some similarities. First, _all_ indoctrinated soldiers were connected to some kind of technological implant, whether its a pacemaker, a tracking implant, even a bionic limb. Every single time, said implant was the apparent source of indoctrination. On the other hand, all of the infected we've pulled did _not_ have any sort of technology planted into or onto their bodies."

"Meaning?" Jazz asked.

"Ah! I was just getting to that..." and he walked across the room, rotating a whiteboard to show a collage of autopsical photographs, "Every single subject has showed similar conditions. Infected have large, swollen amygdalae, the source of their indoctrination, likewise all indoctrinated find the source of _their_ influence rooted in their implants. What we think is happening, is that somehow, the Reapers are either releasing radio frequencies or a virus that creates these...what we call 'seeds of influence'. Somehow, this nanovirus or this frequency...whatever it is...becomes parasitic."

"Wait..." Cynder interrupted, "Remember when we were at that dinosaur factory in the Regions? They were sending all those creatures, after assembly, through that cloud of dust...when they came out they were alive and active."

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Fox said, not giving anyone else a chance to respond, "We've further found nanobots replicating in the bloodstream of Reaper-controlled creatures. The nanonbots kill organic cells and devour them, and they keep reproducing through mitosis until their food runs out, in which case they die off. The waste they produce is what jellies and blackens the blood, turning it into that oil-like fluid we've been seeing. The Reapers produce these nanobots, this nanovirus, they infiltrate the bloodstream of unfortunate victims that are exposed to it, and several things start to happen. Like I said before, with the infected, the virus feeds upon organic cells. When the food runs out, they need to move up to bigger and better game..."

"Organs," Cynder replied.

"Precisely," Fox answered, "They can't do that by themselves, so the surviving virus fuses into a sort of seed, usually on the brainstem, where it proceeds to intercept nourishment to vital organs, while simultaneously feeding on the organs themselves. In the process, the organs are killed off, and as the seed becomes stronger and stronger, it starts to hijack the brain. The virus is driven only with the desire to feed, so it targets parts of the brain that could most benefit its quest, and it takes control over these, while also starving and killing off lesser and 'unneeded' parts of the brain. It's the concentration of nourishment by the virus to the amygdalae that forces the infected into an unrelenting rage. The entire infection process can take anywhere from two to four hours, but by the time the first signs of infection show...it's already too late, the host cannot be saved."

"What about the indoctrinated?" Spyro asked.

"They're a little different scenario. See, instead of creating its own seed of influence, the parasitic nanobots are attracted to the electrical energy radiating off of technology. They're nourished by this energy, so they feed off of it, turning the implant into a seed of influence. Because they don't sap the nourishment from the body's organs, as they're fulfilled by the implant, they don't kill the body in the process. Instead, the Reapers command the nanobots to hijack the host in a similar manner to the infected, but instead of killing the victim, the virus instead brainwashes them. The infected are dead, they're dead soon after they're exposed to the virus or radio signal. The indoctrinated, on the other hand, are well and truly alive, merely under the influence of the Reapers, who use the virus to project a state of delirium and possibly vivid hallucinations upon the host, projecting those machines in a deistic light. Thankfully, that means that the indoctrinated are alive and thus _can_ be saved, if you can find a way to break their delirium."

"Okay then..." Rocket began, "So why did you call _me_ here, gramps?"

"You're infused with cybernetic implants, right?"

"Yeah."

"You've been exposed to the Reapers...I just want to make sure that they haven't started converting you...if you will come with me, please..." and Fox led them over to a clean operating table, "Just sit down, I'm gonna do a few little checks here and there, maybe ask a few questions."

"Have you had any disturbing thoughts recently?" Fox asked.

Rocket was hooked up to a number of electrical equipment and monitoring devices, clad only in a pair of shorts, and laying on his back, facing the light above his head. The raccoon only shook his head, "Nothing more than the usual," he replied with a grim chuckle.

"Have you had any nightmares or dreams where the machines, usually one called 'Harbinger', speak directly to you?"

He shook his head.

"Have you had any pain lately? Usually something like a dull throb or ache."

"Back's been killing me...but it's not like it's the first time. Probably pulled somethin' while I was workin' on that ship."

"Can you turn over so I can have a look?"

"Guess..." Rocket snarled, turning onto his right side, facing away from Fox. The general crouched low to the table, mumbling to himself, "Does it hurt when I do this?" and he touched a spot on Rocket's lower back.

The raccoon shook his head, "Nope."

Touching him gently on the shoulder, "What about this?"

"Nope."

"Hmm..." then, he touched the center of the raccoon's back, near one of his implants, "What about this?"

Instantly Rocket howled in pain, swearing beneath his breath, "Jesus Christ!"

Sounding worried, Fox continued, "Listen, I'm going to have to shave some of your fur off...I hope you don't mind."

"What? Why?"

"Because I can't see shit through it all, but it feels really hard, like skin over metal, I just want to make sure there's nothing there."

While the doctor walked across the room, fishing out a razor, he continued asking, "Have you had any hallucinations? Visual, auditory, or otherwise?"

"Nah..." and then Rocket stopped for a few moments, lost in thought, "Wait a minute...earlier this morning, woke up cause I kept hearin' this guy talking to me. Thought I was losin' my friggin' mind. Shortly after that is when my back started hurtin'..."

An unsettling silence filled the room, and Rocket, from his position, glanced around at everyone he could see. Everyone wore worried or frightened expressions, and the raccoon finally said, "No...no no no, you _can't_ be serious."

"Do you hear them now?"

"Huh? No, 'course not!"

Fox soon returned, turning on the razor and bringing it closer to the raccoon's body, "Okay..." the doctor began, "Now, this might hurt, just as a fair warning."

"Just get it over with, gramps!"

As soon as the plastic clip of the razor brushed against his skin, Rocket dissolved into an incomprehensible cluster of swears and growls of pain. Once the pink flesh of his bare skin was exposed around his implants, Fox closed his face further in, examining the areas. Near where the metal plates protruded from his skin, the flesh was swollen and red, and sure enough, small black, shiny tendrils sprouted from the steel, spiderwebbing several inches out.

"Oh shit!" Fox exclaimed.

"What's wrong? Don't tell me I'm gonna become one of them!" Rocket spat, nearly panicking.

"Hold on, I'm gonna need to pull the skin a bit..." and as Fox lanced the skin, peeling it away to expose more of the plates, his heart sank at the sight. The tendrils were digging further in, tearing through the inside of his body faster than they could be seen on the outside. Like roots on a plan, the metallic veins crawled and snaked throughout his skin and muscle, beginning to wrap around his vertebrae.

"Rocket..." the doctor began in an alarmed tone, "Looks like the parasite is taking root. Three of your implants appear to have become, or are in the process of becoming, seeds of influence."

"No! _HELL_ no! I ain't gonna become one of those freaks!"

Just as he said this, the pain increased tenfold, nearly crippling, so intense that he couldn't even breathe. He cried out against the pain, and Fox watched, eyes widening as the tendrils began to grow and expand, only by a few inches, but visibly growing nevertheless. Shortly after the pain finally receded, Rocket was aware of what sounded like a thousand whispers surging through his head, meshed together so that no words were recognizable. Beneath all of that, the male voice that had spoken to him earlier rambled on in a low drone, his words also nothing more than sounds and syllables. He screamed against the invading voices, pressing his small, black paws against his ears, trying to drown out the sound, "Get...outta...my _fucking_...head!"

The alarm on the heart monitor sounded, and all eyes turned to see the raccoon's heart racing at a dangerously fast pace. His breathing was short and shallow, and he cried out as the pain intensified, mingling with the millions of voices invading his mind.

"Rocket! Rocket! What's wrong? What's wrong?" Ruby asked, rushing to his side, her voice drowned out by the telepathic invasion.

Gasping for breath, the raccoon managed through clenched teeth, "The Reapers! Those damn machines...their voices...their voices are babbling continuously inside my friggin' head! I can't...think...I can't concentrate...make it stop!"

"We need to do something!" Ruby exclaimed in worry, breathing heavily, panicking.

"Trying to think of something," Fox replied, "I just...We don't know how to stop it."

With a ferocious scream, Rocket rolled out of the bed, picking himself up on unsteady feet and stumbling towards the door in a half-run, half-walk. All around him, the room's lights were powerful and blinding, hurting his head even more. He threw open the door, stumbling into the hall, trying to get away from the invading machines.

"Stop!" Spyro roared, "Wait! _Rocket!_ "

"Get away from me!" Rocket howled, feeling a well of anger and hatred deep within him open up. The world began to warp and morph before his eyes, nauseating him. When he finally reached the door leading out into the military district, he threw it open, barring his eyes against the blinding sunlight...and everything went dark.

"Rocket!" Cynder exclaimed, following the raccoon's trail of destruction. He had overturned carts and chairs, scattered desktop supplies all over the place, in his escape.

When Alpha Company finally reached the steel doors leading out into the rest of the city, they found the raccoon doubled over, his back to them, rocking in place, mumbling beneath his breath.

"Rocket! Are you okay!?" Ruby asked, running towards him.

Before she could get very far, Spyro thrust out a paw, catching her in the stomach and holding her back, "Don't!" the purple dragon hissed, "Stay away from him!"

"Damn it, Spyro! Let me _GO!_ "

"Wait! Goddamnit Ruby! I said _WAIT_!"

They watched as Rocket's mumbling stopped and he slowly stood up. His breathing was heavy, but steady, and his shoulders wracked with his breaths.

"You okay, man?" Jazz asked.

A low, gritty chuckle emitted from the raccoon, and he suddenly snapped around to face them, jaw hanging in a silent growl, eyes blanked out. With an harsh growl, he launched himself towards Alpha Company, tackling Jazz to the ground and wrestling the rabbit's Desert Eagle out of its holster. Relieving the safety, he swiftly aimed it towards the surrounding Alpha Company, firing towards them. The entire room dove for cover, including the mutants, and peering out from cover, Spyro watched, eyes wide, as the raccoon stumbled towards them, walking drunkenly around the room, muttering beneath his breath.

With a determined nod towards his mate, the purple dragon slipped out of cover, quietly edging his way towards Rocket. Once he was almost upon the creature, the raccoon abruptly snapped back, firing towards Spyro and narrowly missing his target. The dragon tackled him to the ground, pinning him in place, and Rocket snarled and growled, snapping his fangs towards the dragon's paw.

"Snap out of it!" the dragon roared, reaching for the dropped gun and closing a paw around it, placing the barrel of the weapon against his temple.

"Spyro! Stop!" Ruby exclaimed, shoving her way towards them.

"It's not Rocket anymore, Ruby! Stand back!"

"It's him! It's still him! Don't shoot!"

"Snap out of it, brother!" the dragon snarled, "Ignore them! Think of your identity! Think of your life! Think of your friends! Think of that cannon!"

At mention of the cannon, Rocket's dazed eyes suddenly adopted a shocked appearance, the raccoon _was_ still in there somewhere.

"Yeah! That's right! Think about the cannon, huh? Think about getting it working!"

Here, the creature's look took on one of confusion and uncertainty, and Spyro was stunned to watch as the tendrils of indoctrination, which had been creeping towards his throat, slowly started to retreat with a ghastly sliver.

"Fight it! You can fight them!"

Finally, Rocket's eyes cleared, and he blinked in surprise, as if from a sudden awakening, "What...what's going on?"

Before he had a chance to respond, and just as Spyro began to grin victoriously, the purple dragon was abruptly thrown to the side and a human-form Piermont stood over him, eyes alight with a murderous glare. Before he even knew what was happening, Rocket watched as the dragon picked up a piece of aluminum piping laying across the wall and slammed it across his head, instantly sending him into the black void of unconsciousness.


	20. Chapter XIX: A New Machine

_**Chapter XIX**_ **:**

 **-''A New Machine''-**

 **-The _Ring_ , Earth Orbit-**

 **- _Date Unspecified_ -**

 **- _Time Unspecified_ -**

 _Our brother has been freed from our control!_

Thanatos activated, thousands of voices reporting the same thing within his head.

 _We must bring him back!_

The Reaper general encountered Ares on the bridge of Unit 81B4, their dropship, overlooking the _Ring_ superweapon. Fifteen percent of the Reaper fleet surrounded the weapon, their cloaking systems and jammers activated.

"They have no contact with their allies on the surface," Ares began, "The assault will begin shortly."

"This weapon has slaughtered our brethren," Thanatos replied, "No longer."

"Begin the assault!"

"Sir! We're picking up unusual readings from outside Sector 4," a _Ring_ engineer began, calling over his commanding officer.

"What is it?"

"Not sure, sir, but there are at least a hundred signatures out there."

"Anything from our cameras?"

The engineer flicked through various video screens from the cameras fixed to the weapon's exterior, "Uh...negative, sir."

"May just be solar flares messing with our equipment," and the commander returned to his console, "NASA said they'd be picking up again."

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, accompanied by a powerful quake with enough force to send most of the weapon's occupants to the ground. Alarms sounded throughout the _Ring_ and the lights flickered out, causing the backup generators to roar to life and activate the backup lights. "Sir! Multiple hull breaches in Sector 4! Something hit us!"

"Send a team down there to figure out what the hell just happened."

"Activating airlocks to other sectors...isolating Sector 4, send the team down there."

"Meteors again?" another engineer asked.

"Possibly," the commander responded.

Four Reaper ships attached themselves to the hull of the _Ring's_ Sector 4, repeatedly bashing the surface until they managed to break through to expose the interior of the weapon. Once attached, the Reaper forces deposited a hoard of Husks and Indoctrinated, with Ares and Thanatos at its helm, and the Reaper generals marched towards the nearest airlock into the next sector. Upon arriving at the blast door, Ares beat down the heavy door, stepping into the chamber beyond. Alarms rang throughout the machine, but not a single individual in the invading party cared or even acknowledged it.

Five men rushed down a set of stairs, heading towards the breached sector when they suddenly spotted the Reaper forces, recoiling, their leader shouting, "Oh _SHIT_!"

The team spun around to head back, but not before they were pounced upon and ripped to bloody shreds by a group of Husks. Only the leader managed to stumble away, having been disemboweled, pressing an arm to his intestines to keep them inside of his body while he screamed and fled back towards the command center. He collapsed upon the stairs beneath the weight of several Husks, and he screamed as they proceeded to rip his organs out of his body in a spray of blood and gore, splattering on the walls, ceiling, and floor. Entering another corridor within Sector 3, a space marine charged towards Thanatos, preparing to stab him with the man's rifle's bayonet. Unfazed, the Reaper general smoothly withdrew his high-frequency, vibrating blade, first severing the man's arms before impaling him through the torso and pinning him to the wall. Following this, he ripped the blade free as smoothly as a knife cutting through butter, allowing the corpse to fall dully to the ground, blood spattering on his surroundings from his blade, the vibrations cleansing it of gore.

As they neared the sealed blast door to Sector 2, the Reaper forces encountered more and more resistance, but the Terminator forces didn't stand a chance against them, being swiftly cut down by the Indoctrinated or mauled and ripped apart by the Infected forces in their insatiable fury and bloodlust.

A group of Terminator soldiers gathered on the opposite side of the blast door into Sector 2, preparing to ambush the Reaper forces if they managed to breach. They all remained silently in place, weapons trained on the door. A powerful thud startled several of them, accompanied by several more. With each bang, the heavy steel on the door dented outward a little more, causing almost every man in the group to tremble and shake. They couldn't even hold their weapons steady against the fear that washed through them, knowing very well that the odds of them being able to stop the attack was nearly zero. Finally, the door gave way, falling inward, and in an instant, Infected forces rushed into the breach. Everyone opened fire against the attacking creatures, horrified upon the realization that they couldn't even dent the attacking army. In seconds, they had been slaughtered, and Ares and Thanatos continued their casual stroll further into the depths of the _Ring_ , heading towards Sector 1 and, ultimately, the command center. Their approach wasn't even slightly halted by the defending marines, and anyone who managed to bypass and survive the initial wave of Husks was swiftly and casually cut down by the Reaper generals' vibrating swords.

"Don't let them through!" a soldier called out, "We cannot let them take control of the _Ring_!"

Ares swiftly cut through the next wave of defenders, hissing, "We have no desire to use this piece of obsolete technology! We must protect our brethren!" and he turned to his companion, "Thanatos, find and breach their control center before they have a chance to retaliate!"

"Yes, Ares..."

"Somebody contact New Alexandria! We need support! Now!" a Terminator captain spat, "They're slicing through our forces far too fast! We don't stand a chance at this rate!"

"We've lost all contact with the surface!" an engineer cried out, frantically tapping away at his console, "They've jammed our communications!"

"Well do something!"

"We're trying!"

Just then, the sealed blast door into the chamber blew apart, and all eyes turned to watch, in horror, as the Reaper general Thanatos casually strolled into the room, carelessly cutting down everyone he saw.

"Shoot him!" a voice called out through the room, "Somebody shoot him!"

"You mortal beings stand no chance against me!" Thanatos roared, summoning a ball of fire in the palm of his gloved hand and throwing it towards the captain, engulfing him in flames.

With eerie agility, the creature evaded the barrage of bullets from the room's occupants, slaughtering them gruesomely with his blade. Anyone who managed to avoid his sword soon found themselves engulfed in flame that greedily devoured their flesh. Within minutes, the room had been cleared out, and not a single soul remained. Ares entered the room, accompanied by an army of Husks, Thanatos merely turned to him, saying, "The station has fallen to our control."

"Spread the infection, it won't be long before the humans on the planet's surface arrive to investigate, ensure that they don't take the station back."

"Yes, Ares."

"I will inform Harbinger of our success," and Ares left the room.


	21. Chapter XX: The Ring

_**Chapter XX**_ **:**

 **-''The Ring''-**

 **-New Alexandria, Montana-**

 **- _08 May 2015_ -**

 **- _1551 Hours_ -**

"Oh God...my head..." Rocket groaned, slowly coming to. He tried to move, finding that his limbs were restrained, and upon looking around him, his eyes widened as he discovered that he was strapped to an operating table. With an exclamation of surprise, he struggle to rip free from his binds before his senses finally returned, and he remembered where he was and what had happened.

They were in the command center, and Doctor Randall Fox had been discussing Reaper infection and indoctrination. Then...then...?

Then Fox had told him to lay down, and the doctor had spied signs of indoctrination on him...then what happened?

His mind was blurry, he couldn't recall what exactly had happened, all he knew was that his head ached mercilessly, and he was heavily sedated. As he was about to drift off back to sleep, he was startled back into alertness by something cold and damp being placed against his temple, and when his eyes cleared, he saw Ruby crouching beside him, wearing a concerned expression, "You're awake?" she asked.

"Ruby..." he groaned, shaking his head, "What happened?"

"You're damn lucky Pierre didn't kill you," another voice spoke, and Rocket craned his head to see Spyro approaching him, leaning over the table. He, too, was holding a wet dishrag over the side of his head.

"What happened...why am I all tied up? I didn't sign up for this...bondage ain't my thing."

"You became indoctrinated," Spyro replied firmly, "Any other time, and I'd be considering why we didn't just kill you, but you did us a favor."

"What...how?"

"We know how to counter indoctrination," Fox replied, voice heard but the doc himself unseen, "Maybe if one has the will, the strength to resist, they can break it. Keep thinking about that cannon of yours and getting it finished...and if my theory proves true, you may have just saved a whole bunch of lives."

"Can you at least let me outta these things? Don't like bein' tied up!"

"Not until we're sure that you're fully...there...again." Fox continued, "Overnight shouldn't be too hard."

" _What_!? Overnight!?"

"We need to monitor your brain patterns and vitals, make sure you don't lapse back into that aggressive state."

"God damn it..."

"It won't be too bad, surely there's nothing going on tonight for you anyway..."

"Yeah," Spyro chuckled, "Unless he's got a date pending with Ruby."

The dolphin glared at him, "Shut up!"

"Screw you..." Rocket spat, wincing at the pain and forcing his head even tighter into the cold cloth.

"Well, considering I'm the one that just saved your ass from catching a bullet, I'd say that a little thanks are in order. If Pierre would've had it his way, you'd be dead right now."

"Better off that than to become one of those friggin' things."

"What a cheeky, happy little fellow," Fox replied sarcastically.

"Yeah? Sue me, gramps."

That night, Ruby found herself doing what Alex had done so many times before her...standing on the west balcony, looking out over the skyline. She tried to imagine what the city would have looked like under the glow of the _Fiernes Curtain_ , still smoldering on beyond the fortified city walls. She felt Sapphire's fin place itself upon her back, and she slowly turned around to face her old friend, staring towards her with a concerned expression.

"Are you okay, Ruby?"

Seeing that there was no reason to lie, she slowly shook her head, "I hope Rocket will be okay..." and she embraced him tightly, whistling in sadness, "Why must everything bad happen to us?"

"A test perhaps?" the bull dolphin replied, gently nuzzling her, "For everything bad we survive, we become stronger and stronger."

"I'm tired of the pain, I'm tired of the suffering...I miss Alex, and I'm worried for Rocket...it seems like every time I get close to somebody...something bad happens to them. Am I cursed? Am I a mistake?"

"Untrue," he replied firmly, "I'm still here, and I care about you...we're close...yes?"

She slowly nodded, "I'm tired of losing everyone I hold dear...I'm afraid I'll lose you, too..."

"I will make sure you won't lose me," Sapphire replied reassuringly.

"Alex made the same promise..." Ruby frowned, "I just...I feel so lonely, so cold and alone anymore. I'm afraid of becoming too close to someone, for fear that they'll be taken away from me, too..."

"We're close..."

She smiled sadly, "You're my best friend...really the only one I have left..." and she looked away, "Sapphire...I'm tired of feeling alone, I'm tired of sleeping by myself."

"May I join you? Will you let me close to you? Just like we did a long time ago? I want to help you through your pain and suffering, I really, sincerely do...but you've shut everyone out. It seems all you really ever show attention to anymore is that raccoon, or those two raptors."

"I miss my mate..." she replied, "That's really the worst part...and I'm afraid of taking another one, because I'm afraid I'll lose them, too."

"We're mates, aren't we?"

She nodded, "I guess we are..."

"I may not be able to do what Alex was able to...but if you need a mate, I _am_ here for you. Even if you don't, and you are simply looking for a friend...I still am here for you. I want to be a part of your life, but only if you will let me in."

Silence fell between them for several moments before Ruby finally asked, turning to face her old friend, "Do you love me?"

Without a doubt, he nodded, "Of course I do. Don't _you_?"

"Do you love me as a friend, or a lover?"

"I love you as a mate," he replied firmly, "We are old friends, we've always had each other, even when Alex was nothing more than a dreamed entity in your sleep as a calf. I'm not saying that I'm better than him...I know I will never replace him, but I will try to be the best I can, if you will just give me a chance."

"Will you mate with me?"

"If you want, yes," he nodded, "But only if you want. I don't want to hurt you again."

She placed her head beneath his, sighing with a light whistle, "Yes...I do. If anything to help take my mind off of him."

She watched with a light, shy smile as his genital slit, blushed red, swelled and opened, and his pink, eel-like penis began to emerge from within until it was full length, pressing lightly against her lower belly, warm and smooth. She turned to face him, smiling at her old friend, staring at her with eyes full of a deep care and concern. Perhaps he didn't have a lover's gaze, having accepted that he had been usurped by Alex, but the glance he cast still showed her how much he really did care for her. It was the gaze of a good friend, one she was very familiar with, and she remembered back when she was still a calf, neglected and abandoned by her pod. Only her mother and Sapphire had cared about her, and the bull dolphin had done anything he could to protect her and make her feel accepted. This was the same glance he gave her, and even though he still maintained a sexual interest in her, he didn't see the act of their imminent mating as lovers consummating their relationship, he viewed it as doing an old friend a favor.

"Love me," she whispered, "Please...take me away, show me how to live...make me forget about the world, even if for a little while..."

"Whatever you need, my dear..." he replied softly, "I will take care of you..." and they dove into the water of their pool together, disappearing beneath the surface, a lingering cloud of milky white marking their entrance in the darkness.

" _Tell them that Necrodusk commands you to be freed!"_

" _What?" Rocket asks, blinking around in the void, watching as the abyss gained shape, morphing into the battlefield he had seen in his past dreams. He searched for the omnipresent voice, calling for it again, "What did you say?"_

 _The voice responds, sounding impatient, "Tell them that Necrodusk commands you to be freed! I need your help!_ WE _need your help!"_

" _But I..."_

" _I can't stay long..." Necrodusk says, "Time is short before they return...relay my command to those furry little monsters running around the city with you. Tell them to free you! Also, tell them that the_ Ring _has fallen to the Reapers!"_

" _But..."_

And Rocket's eyes shot open at the sound of a door slamming shut in the other room. He blinked around the dark room, his eyes adjusting the to darkness. The only source of light in the darkened lab came from the coolers lining the walls, storing all kinds of chemicals, specimens, and other, unknown items.

"Who's there?" the raccoon asked, groaning at the pathetic sound of his voice, "Can't see shit in here so speak up."

"It's me..." Ruby's timid voice spoke, and Rocket sighed with relief.

"Thank God, Ruby...are you okay?"

He craned his neck to spy the cow standing beside him, wearing a calm, relieved expression, a far cry from what he had seen before. For the time being, she didn't seem to be unhappy or worried, and he was visibly surprised by the alien look on her face. "How are you feeling?" she asked, Sapphire standing silently beside her.

Rocket chuckled, "Well, vulnerable...like I said before, bondage ain't really my thing."

She smiled genuinely, even allowing a small giggle, "You really should try it."

"Yeah...no...you mind getting me out of here. Some dude named Necrodusk says I should."

" _What!?_ " Ruby replied, alarmed, "What did you just say?"

"Some guy named Necrodusk says he orders you guys to set me free."

"Necrodusk...?"

"Yeah...name sound familiar?"

After several seconds of stunned silence, Ruby turned and raced out of the room, Sapphire only looked after her, appearing only vaguely concerned.

"Who is Necrodusk?" Rocket asked the bull, who only turned to face him, shaking his head before leaving the room, once more leaving the raccoon alone in the darkness, "Aww c'mon! Was it something I said?"

"You said Necrodusk spoke to you?" Spyro asked. About half an hour after Ruby had abruptly left, she had returned with the rest of Alpha Company in tow, all, save Fox, appearing as if they had just crawled out of bed.

"Yeah...this guy called Necrodusk said, and I quote, 'Tell them that Necrodusk commands them to set you free', end quote."

Without so much as a moment of hesitation, the purple dragon cut the plastic ties binding the raccoon's hands to the table. Rubbing his wrists and sitting up, Rocket asked, "Who the hell is Necrodusk?"

"Did he say anything else?" Piermont growled, "Speak now or I'll hogtie your fucking ass again!"

Rocket shrugged, then after a few seconds, "Oh! Yeah! He kept talking about how he only had a little bit of time before 'they' came back, whoever 'they' is. He also wanted me to tell you that 'the _Ring_ has fallen to the Reapers'."

Grave expressions erupted throughout the rest of the soldiers in the room, and with a snarl, Spyro turned to face Jazz, "Check his facts!"

Without a word, the rabbit raced off and Spyro leaned in close to Rocket, "Try to remember, did he tell you anything else?"

A few minutes later, Jazz returned, expression grim and somber, "We haven't had contact with the _Ring_ for quite some time now, Fox tried to call them but...there was no response."

Spyro straightened, "All right, let's get up there," and he turned to face Rocket, "Can we trust you not to go apeshit again?"

"I'll try my best."

"If he turns, I'll just kill him," Piermont replied darkly, stomping away.

Alpha Company's space-modified Hornet reached Sector 7 of the _Ring_ superweapon, hearts already sinking when they spied breaches in the weapon's hull. Given that the weapon's interior chambers were divided into isolated sectors, if only one or two spots were breached, there were still safe zones for survivors to remain in. Aria carefully piloted the machine into one of these breaches, and after equipping themselves in space suits, they opened the vacuum-sealed doors and stepped out onto the battered and broken floor.

"Looks like the artificial gravity ain't working anymore," Aria sighed.

"Well, it's not like there's massive gaping holes in the wall or anything," Spyro replied.

"Point is," Aria continued, "Weapons are worthless, so tread carefully. Rocket, you have those laser pistols right?"

"Yeah."

"Congratulations, you're on point."

They trekked through the ruined sector, frightened at the grisly environment. Blood and gore lingered in the air, anyone who had survived the Reaper attack would have surely been unable to survive the exposure to outer space. The further they went in, the worse the situation seemed to be. In addition to the grisly sights before them, the eerie silence didn't help the overall feel of the area. They passed through each sector on their way to the command center, hoping that there were some survivors in there. However, as they passed through the blown gate into Sector 2, Rocket said, "Wait guys...hold on..."

"What's wrong?" Ruby, clad in the power armor she had stolen from Knowhere, asked.

"Picking up some heavy, heavy electromagnetic readings...looks like it's the end of the line for me."

"Bullshit, you're coming with us," Piermont scowled.

"Yeah, right, I step any closer and the Reapers will hijack me again...anybody here connected to any kinda electronic piece?"

Everyone else in the room shook their heads.

"Well then...anybody know how to use a blaster?"

Jazz suddenly ripped it from the raccoon's paw, "Nope, but I'll learn."

"All right then..." the raccoon replied, shaking his head, "I'm gonna head back to the ship, does anyone here have like any cellphones, radios, anything?"

"Nothing we can take off while we're out here and exposed."

"The door to Sector 1 looks like it hasn't been damaged," Dash suddenly said, examining the bloody but otherwise intact blast door, "Doesn't look like the Reapers got...or even _tried_...to break through."

"Well, let's go in there then. Hopefully the airlock is working, cause you guys are gonna have to drop everything: suits, radios, everything that's powered by electricity you're gonna have to take off your person, else you risk letting the Reaper E.M.F's saturating the air infect it," Rocket continued.

Aria, who had been reading from a barely functioning computer terminal built into the wall, suddenly interrupted, "Looks like everything's working, albeit at minimum capacity, on _this_ side of the command center. The _Ring_ is struggling to keep up, but the fact we got some anti-gravity and oxygen pumping through this side tells me that the hull hasn't been breached, or if it has, not enough that the _Ring_ 's artificial atmosphere can't keep everything inside."

"I'll stay back here," Rocket replied, "Maybe I'll retreat a little bit just to ensure I'm not close enough for the E.M.F's to indoctrinate me again."

"We won't be able to contact you," Dash replied, "If we go in there, you're cut off from us until we get back out."

"I know."

"It's too dangerous, how will we know if the Reapers are coming back? We go in there now, and if they decide to come back around to check things out, we're cornered," Jazz spat.

Rapid nodded, "I'll stay back here with him...I really don't wanna see what happened in there anyway...if I have to and it's an emergency, I'll go in there to let you guys know, but for now, I think I'll stay out here and keep watch with Rocket."

The others of Alpha Company reluctantly nodded in agreement before Spyro said, "All right, fair enough...let's keep going."

In the airlock between Sectors 2 and 1, Alpha Company ditched their space suits, radios, phones, and when applicable, other things such as watches. Free of all technology and acknowledging the bitter, frozen temperatures inside of the machine, they finally passed through the airlock into the clean and untouched hall beyond, Aria connecting to terminals wired into the _Ring_ 's local computer systems whenever she could to ensure that it was safe for them to continue. Each side of the command center had two sets of seals. If one was broken, it would trigger the other to activate in the event of an emergency to ensure the safety of the chamber's occupants. Although one of the seals on the hall opposite of them had been damaged to the point that it was inoperable, the secondary blast door had come down without a hitch, meaning it was safe to enter the room beyond, or at least the atmosphere was safe. What lay on the other side of the primary seal on this side of the _Ring,_ unharmed and untouched by the Reapers, was anyone's guess.

"Watch your asses," Spyro sighed, "Hard telling what we're gonna find in here. Jazz, I hope you're ready with that gun."

"Ready enough," the rabbit replied, "Let's go."

With a deep breath, Spyro forced the security door to open, and Alpha Company rushed inside, ready to attack whatever they may have found. The first thing they noticed was that the air was thick with a brownish dust, alarming them greatly. "Shit! Infection spores! Cover your mouths and noses!" Spyro hissed, "Try not to breathe!"

"We need to leave," Cynder replied, "They can get in through _any_ orifice in the body: eyes, ears, mouth, nose...it doesn't matter...we need to get out of here!"

As they abruptly turned to head back into the corridor, they heard a sob-like gasp coming from behind them, and they instantly turned around.

Ruby was collapsed onto the ground, cradling something in the steampunk gauntlets she wore over her fins, the fingers of which she telekinetically controlled. "Ruby!" Spyro hissed, "What the hell are you doing!?" and he stormed towards her, pulling her back.

She did not resist against him, and as the dragon tugged at her dorsal fin, the dolphin cow fell back onto the ground, in tears, curling into a ball and sobbing to herself. The object she had been holding clattered onto the floor beneath her, and while Jazz and Spyro, both with snarls of disapproval, dragged her out of the room and into Sector 1, Cynder gently scooped up the object she had been holding, staring down at it and quickly walking back into the hall. Only once the door to the command center had slammed shut, closing them off from the deadly spores, did Spyro decide to investigate the object that Cynder was staring at, mouth agape.

"What is it?" Jazz asked, putting back on his space suit.

Without a word, Cynder handed it off to the rabbit, who's own eyes widened. It was a pair of battered and dirty dog tags, caked in blood. He could just barely make out the information engraved on the metal sheet...they belonged to Alex.

"He was here...?" Jazz asked, shaking his head.

"But he wasn't wearing them when he fell..." Spyro replied, "Right?"

"Alex never took them off," Cynder replied, voice shaking and uncertain.

"C'mon, Ruby," Jazz suddenly said, helping the dolphin to a standing position, "Let's get you back home, huh?"


	22. Chapter XXI: Suicide is Painless

_**Chapter XXI**_ **:**

 **-''Suicide is Painless''-**

 **-New Alexandria, Montana-**

 **- _15 May 2015_ -**

 **- _2319 Hours_ -**

Spyro quietly slipped back into his darkened room, silently making his way over to the bed, hoping not to wake Cynder. Upon climbing in beside her, the she-dragon asked him, "How's Ruby?"

With a sigh, Spyro replied, "She's fine...for now...having everyone keep a very close eye on her though. Seeing Alex's tags really messed her up."

"How do you think they even got there?"

"Not sure," the dragon replied, "Unless the Reapers infected him after he died..."

"So he could be one of those...monsters?"

"I wouldn't discount that...but he also may not, so there's no need to worry, right now anyway."

"There's plenty of reason to worry," Cynder replied, turning to face her mate, "Spyro...they destroyed the _Ring_ , or main strength against them...what are we gonna do now? We don't stand a chance!"

"We'll figure out something," the purple dragon said, attempting to remain calm, "Don't worry...we'll figure out something."

"I just hope we can stop them..."

"We'll manage."

" _Ruby..."_

 _The dolphin opens her eyes, finding herself laying down on the couch in the living room of Suite 1. She sits up, anxiously looking around for the source of the voice._

" _Ruby...are you with me?"_

 _Her eyes finally adjust to the dim light of the darkened room, and she can just barely make out a pale, frail-looking man sitting across from her, wearing dirty clothes and appearing exhausted. "Alex?" she begins, first filled with an indescribable joy before sorrow envelopes her, and she realizes that it's only another dream._

" _Listen, Ruby..." he begins, sounding weak, "I'm sorry...I failed you."_

" _You didn't fail me!" she replies, attempting to sound stronger, "Are you okay?"_

 _He frowns towards her, eyes sad and lamenting, "I'm losing control..." he says, "This will probably be the last time we'll see each other."_

" _What do you mean?" she responds, "Alex, tell me what's going on! Why were your dog tags on the_ Ring _? What's happening? Are you okay? Are you alive? Please...tell me."_

" _I love you, Ruby," he replies, ignoring her, "I always will...you know that, right?"_

" _Of course I do..." she replies, heart sinking again, "Please, Alex...don't do this, don't leave me..."_

 _He silences her by hugging her tightly, kissing the top of her head, "Stay strong, my little gemstone...stay strong. Don't give up, you hear me? No matter what happens, don't give up!"_

" _Alex...don't go..."_

" _I'll always be with you in spirit...just like I was back then..." he smiles sadly, "We'll see each other again, someday, either in this life or the next..." and he tightens his embrace._

 _For several minutes, they hold each other like that, relishing in their contact, until he finally breaks away from her, slowly backing away, "I love you, Ruby."_

" _Alex...where are you going!?" and she cries out upon noticing that his form is becoming fainter and fainter, fading away, "No! Don't leave!"_

" _Stay strong..." he repeats, "Don't give up!_ NEVER _give up!"_

" _Please! Don't go! I love you! I miss you!" within seconds, Ruby is on her feet, running towards him, "You don't have to leave!"_

" _Goodbye..."_

 _But as she finally reaches where he had faded completely away..._

...Her eyes snapped open.

With a whine and a sad whistle, she sat up on the couch, looking towards where Alex had been standing in her dream. There was something different about it this time...it didn't _feel_ like a dream, was Alex trying to reach her from across the distance between them? Ruby wanted to cry, but it didn't take long before she realized that there were no more tears left to be shed. Upon this realization, she felt a heavy, but not necessarily unpleasant, weight lift off of her shoulders, and she frowned against the gaping emptiness she now felt.

There was no more sadness...no more feeling...everything was numb. She felt nothing, neither sadness, nor joy, nor sorrow, nor relief...it was just...empty. Her expression blank, she looked around the room, smirking upon seeing Tiberius and Athena, now fully grown, curled together on the floor, sleeping silently. With only a sigh, she slowly laid back against the couch, sitting in place, no thoughts running through her head, feeling nothing. The world could be ending, and all she would react with is a cold stare as everything came down around her.

Through her newly developed callousness, she finally came to accept the realization that Alex was gone, and she would never see him again.

Ruby's sudden distance from everything and everyone sounded several alarms within the broken Alpha Company. Whenever anyone would try to speak with her, she would just stare blankly towards them until they gave up trying to communicate with her. She didn't seem to be depressed anymore, now, she was just cold and hard. There was no light of emotion in her weary eyes, no sign of love, melancholy, or naivety, only the experienced eyes of one who had seen all the negativity that the world had to offer. In fact, she looked completely alien to everyone there, it seemed as if she had finally just given up, realizing and accepting that pain was not going to bring her mate back.

Only Rocket was able to draw out a response from the detached dolphin, during which she only said, "There is nothing left," and she stood up, leaving Suite 1 and stepping out onto the west balcony, staring blankly into the distance.

She heard an odd sound, like a growl combined with a chirp, from behind her, and she barely turned her head to see both of the raptors staring peculiarly at her, heads cocked to the side. Saying nothing, expression never changing, she only turned to face the horizon again, barely acknowledging when Tiberius cautiously approached her, nuzzling her fin onto his head, with no resistance from the dolphin. After several minutes of trying and failing to coax a reaction from Ruby, Tiberius finally backed away towards his sister, exchanging glances with her before both turned and walked away.

"All right," Spyro began, addressing Rocket, "Fox has called us into a meeting to figure out what the hell we're gonna do now that we've lost the _Ring_ , we shouldn't be gone long, but..." and the purple dragon nodded towards Ruby, who had once more returned to the couch in Suite 1's living room, staring blankly off into space, "Keep an eye on Ruby...I've got a bad feeling about all of this..." then beneath his breath, "I advise keeping anything that she may try to use as a weapon as far away from her as possible."

"Spyro...you guys are in the friggin' army...everything _here_ is a weapon!"

"You get my point," the dragon scowled, "Anyway, just...stick around her, give her the space she wants...but also keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn't try anything stupid."

"Who fuckin' cares?" Piermont spat, passing by them, "If the fuckin' fish wants to kill herself, then let her, that's _one_ less problem we have to worry about."

Spyro only glared at the human-form dragon as he walked away before turning his attention back to the raccoon, "Please, Rocket..."

The raccoon nodded in response, "Don't worry, shouldn't be too bad."

"I'm sorry to put such a burden on you but...as irritating as she can be, and as messed up as she is in the head...I'd hate to see her do something like that."

"I gotcha."

"Hopefully, we'll be back soon, if you need anything, feel free to call us..." and Spyro handed him a cellphone, "This belonged to Alex, all of our numbers are in there, so just call us if you need anything, or if there's an emergency."

"Got it," the raccoon replied, "Thanks."

"Take care."

"Cya," and Rocket watched Alpha Company leave before he turned around to face Ruby, "Is there anything you need?"

Silence.

"Well...holler if you need anything..." and, reluctantly, he said, "I'm gonna take a shower," before disappearing into Alex's room.

" _Nobody wants her!"_

Ruby remained in place, staring blankly towards the black screen of the flat-screen television mounted to the wall across from her, all while Piermont's voice taunted her, likely mimicking his actual feelings towards the dolphin.

" _Nobody_ loves _her!"_

The corners of her mouth barely contorted into a brief smile.

" _She's nothing but a burden! It'd be better off if she just went away!"_

It was no secret that she was the most hated member of Alpha Company, deemed as the weakest and most vulnerable...even though the unit itself was broken beyond repair, even without her intervention. There was a reason they disbanded-greed, arrogance, and self-entitlement had been festering in their clique since Alex had fallen and left a vacancy in their commanding position.

" _The only one who even_ remotely _cared about her was Alex, and he's gone!"_

Indeed, Alex had been the only one who _truly_ cared about her, likewise the Commander had been the only reason she had joined anyway. Now that he was gone, there was nothing left tethering her to here or anywhere. When she had told Alex that he was the sole reason she had survived through her captivity, it was not a cry for pity, it was not an exaggeration.

" _She should just die already!"_

Still taunted by Piermont's voice inside the depths of her mind, Ruby finally stood up and walked towards Alex's room, her emotions still numb and blank. She quietly slipped into the room's bathroom, hearing Rocket humming a tune in the shower. She quietly opened the medicine cabinet, fishing out a bottle of antidepressants, once taken by Alex to aide in his posttraumatic stress disorder. Ensuring that Rocket still hadn't noticed her, the dolphin slipped back out, once more making her way into the living room. For several minutes, she merely stared at the half-empty bottle, startled by a snort from Tiberius, who stood on the opposite end of the room, staring at Ruby, Athena cowering behind him.

" _We'd all be better off without her!"_

Rocket strolled out of Alex's bedroom, trying the his face on a towel, "Yo, Ruby, wanna go get something to eat?"

When he saw Ruby laying unconscious on the floor, his jaw dropped and he ran towards the creature, screaming her name. When she wouldn't respond and he saw the open, dropped bottle of pills resting beside her, he hurriedly ran towards his room again, grabbing his phone with trembling hands and calling the others.

"What happened?" Spyro roared, storming into the suite, the rest of the unit in tail.

"I went to take a shower and when I got out I just...I found her like this!" Rocket replied, nearly panicking.

"Ruby! Can you hear me?" Cynder replied, checking for a heartbeat.

Piermont only smirked, and when the she-dragon looked up to face him, she spat, "What's so damn funny?"

"This might've been the bravest fucking thing she's ever done, good on her, that's one less thing to worry about," and he walked away.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Spyro growled, "What do you have against her?"

The human-form dragon paused in his tracks, rotating on his heels and saying, "You wanna know what my problem is? Lemme tell you...I'm over here barely keeping control of myself, fighting the suicidal instinct that _all_ bonded dragons have with the deaths of their riders, and then you got this stupid bitch over here, who _doesn't_ have the same weakness, and she's too cowardly to fight it. _THAT'S_ what I have a problem with!"

"Their relationship is different!"

"How so, huh? The dragon/rider bond is every bit as intimate as theirs, minus the sexual shit. In addition to that, as I already fucking said, I'm fighting _instinct_ , she's just fighting her own damn emotions! She's weak, too weak to live in this hell we call a life. Good, she's gone, that's one less loose end!" and he stormed off.

"Spyro," Cynder suddenly interrupted, "I need your help getting her to sit up, Jazz, do you think you can call an ambulance?"

"Do you think they'll even treat her? Since she's a dolphin and all."

"Not sure, but we need to try, and quickly. Every second we waste here is another second closer to losing her for good."

 _Ruby wakes up in a field of wheat, the time set at twilight. At first, she's afraid at her surroundings, but then, remembering what had happened, he eagerly runs forward, searching for Alex or any sign of where he could be. She can't shake an underlying feeling of heavy guilt, however, and she feels like she doesn't belong here. She gets paranoid and is afraid of being caught, feeling like a trespasser. As she runs, she discovers that she is able to sense the presence of others in this seemingly empty world, and she tries to locate and home in on her mate._

 _Finally, out of breath, she slows to a stop, trying to catch her breath, and this is when she notices her human hands. She observes herself a little more, shocked to find that she is as human as Alex was. She's filled with a deep sense of joy at the thought of this, realizing that she and Alex could finally live a life that was intended, perhaps they could even have children..._

"Out of the way!" Spyro roared, shoving people out of the way as doctors tried to rush Ruby into a hospital room. She was unconscious, her heart barely fluttering, her breathing shallow and unsteady.

"I can't believe this is happening..." Cynder frowned, shaking her head.

"She probably wouldn't be _in_ this mess if you all wouldn't have treated her so poorly!" Sapphire hissed, "What did you expect to happen? She's broken, she doesn't think like normal people, and all this verbal abuse she's been taking has done is make things worse for her! She's grieving over the loss of her mate, and although I understand that _everyone_ is grieving over Alex's death, she's incapable of grieving like normal people do. She needed to be comforted, and by her _family_ , there's only so much I can do."

"She cares more about you than she does us," Aria spat.

"Not necessarily," the bull replied, "Not since I raped her."

"I say it's Rocket's fault," Spyro frowned, "If he would have kept an eye on her like I told him to..."

"Don't go blaming Rocket!" Dash hissed, "Sapphire's right. It's OUR fault for treating her like utter crap the past year. Rocket had shit to do, he couldn't just sit there staring at her every second of the day! We _ALL_ had a responsibility to take care of her, and we mucked it up, that's on us!"

"It shouldn't _be_ our responsibility to begin with," Aria replied coldly, "There is _way_ too much going on with the Reapers for us to dedicate every waking second of our lives to making sure she doesn't do anything rash. If we can pull her out of this..."

"Which we will," Rocket replied, attempting to lighten to mood.

"No," Aria replied bitterly, "If we _can_ pull her out of this, she needs to go to a home, somewhere they _can_ and _will_ take care of her 24/7. We have too much going on in our lives to do that."

Silence from the others, all silently acknowledging that the servine was correct.

 _While Ruby walks through the field of wheat, the time of day never seeming to change, she is startled out of her tranquil state of mind by the sound of horses running on the road she's following. She freezes in place, trying to decide what to do, and as she's about to leap into the wheat, hoping to hide, a male voice calls out, "You there! What do you think you're doing!?"_

 _Unable to respond or even act, she merely turns to face the man who had called her...a knight sitting upon a battle-armored horse._

" _I'm looking for someone," she says._

" _If you haven't found them yet, then they aren't here," he replies._

" _What?" Ruby replies, "But Alex...he died last year and..."_

" _He's not here," the man interrupts in a vicious tone, "And_ you _don't belong here either! Begone!"_

" _Please! I just need to find him! I need to find my mate!"_

" _I said begone!"..._

…And Ruby's eyes shot open, finding herself in what appeared to be a hospital room. She was surrounded by doctors, one of them shouting, "Everything looks stable...she's back."

Spyro appeared, looking down at her and saying, "Welcome back to the land of the living."

"No!" she cried out, fighting back against the doctors, who were holding her down on the bed, voice hoarse, "No, no, no, _NO!_ I don't wanna be here! I need to get back to the wheat field! I need to find Alex!"


	23. Chapter XXII: Gaiden

_**Chapter XXII**_ **:**

 **-''Gaiden''-**

 **-New Alexandria, Montana-**

 **- _04 November 2014_ -**

 **- _1115 Hours_ -**

Jazz sat alone at a local pub, sipping from a martini. Aside from a few elderly people sitting scattered around the restaurant, the joint wasn't very busy, and the usual heavy rock that played had been switched out for lighter and older rock, such as Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, and B.B. King.

"Not often you see a friendly face," a feminine voice chuckled, and Jazz merely turned his head to the side to acknowledge Dash, sitting beside him, "Surprised to find you here, how've you been?"

The rabbit chuckled, "Good enough I suppose...life's been pretty boring lately."

"Where've you been at anyway? Elliot said that you're still in the team, but nobody's seen you since that ceremony thing."

"Working," he replied, "Shit, I haven't gotten a decent break in months...how've you been lately?"

"Alive," the Pegasus replied grimly, "Which is more than what can be said about a few other unfortunate saps I've worked with since Alpha dissolved. Mostly been doing little scouts and patrols here and there...pretty much nothing else."

"So what brings you to my personal slice of hell?"

"Put in for a transfer, was getting tired of the monotony, decided I wanted to switch things up. Elliot said my new C.O was gonna meet me here."

"So you're the new arrival then, huh?" Jazz smirked, "Hope you fair better than my last partner."

"What happened?"

"Went a little...crazy...from the isolation. When you spend months out in the Burned Lands, freezing your ass off with little heating or air conditioning, spending your days watching out for anything suspicious...things do get a little lonely."

"So...you heard much from the others?" Dash asked.

Jazz shrugged, "Not really...like I said, what I've been doing basically cuts me off from everyone else here. I'm a little late to the party...dunno where everyone is these days. I know Ruby and Sapphire are still at that aquarium, at least I assume so. Spyro and Cynder and a few others retired back to their homes, and another few moved on and joined the Revolution. Nobody has any idea where the hell Pierre turned up, most people think he's dead, and nobody's seen Aria or Cherub in months."

Silence fell between them for a few seconds before Dash asked, "So...when are we leaving? The sooner I get out of this city, the better."

"Not so fast," the rabbit replied, "I'm on my grocery run, so I still need to stop by the supermarket and pick up some supplies...in case we get another snowfall like we had back in October, cutting us off pretty much from the rest of the city."

"Jeez, how far north do they have you guys?"

"Quite a few miles, basically in the middle of fucking nowhere, sitting on the American/Canadian border."

Once they had both finished eating and had purchased several months worth of supplies, with the intention of having enough on hand to survive a nasty winter, which was being forecast, Jazz led them a number of miles north of the city's walls, up into the mountains neighboring New Alexandria, to a small, fortified, stone tower that overlooked a wide expanse of the Burned Lands.

Walking up to the heavy, reinforced, oak door that led into the medieval-style tower, a thick snow falling around them, Jazz said, "Gonna warn you now, we got some cramped quarters and a general lack of privacy, but it's nice and cozy. Got a little space heater that keeps things warm and toasty."

Shifting the bags of groceries he was carrying into one arm, he fished the keys out from the pocket of his one piece body armor set, clumsily unlocking the door and placing his elbow on the handle to turn it, kicking the door open once it was unlatched. They were greeted by hot, dry air, comfortable against the bitter cold mountain winds, and the smell of hazelnut coffee. Dropping his bags onto the crude but sturdy wooden table, the rabbit shut the door behind them, hopping over to the rough, wooden counter and pouring himself a cup of fresh coffee.

"Help yourself," the rabbit replied, hopping across the room and to the desk adjacent to his bed, holding a few books, a battery-powered desk lamp, and a CB radio. The tower contained only one alarmingly small room with a ten foot diameter, working as a kitchen, work station, and bedroom all in one. There were two beds across from one another, pressed up against the wall, each with a small dresser for their belongings, and a desk to be used for both work and recreational purposes. There was little electricity out here, with the tower relying on candle light and a fireplace for warmth and illumination. What little electricity they did have was provided by a cheap, gasoline generator resting in its own little chamber beneath the tower, accessible through a small hatch in one corner of the room. In another corner was a stack of crates and barrels for storage, as well as five spare gasoline tanks for the generator, and a kitchen nook against the wall with a small counter, some cabinets, a sink for dishes, and an old, beat-up refrigerator that looked at least thirty years old. In place of decorations, weapons and ammunition were mounted on the wall, and each of the two beds was provided with a safe tucked beneath them for each occupant's personal belongings.

"Jeez...when you said small, you weren't kidding."

"Nope. Also, we have a little, crappy-ass television, relic from the '70s, doesn't work very well but gets some very basic channels. Oh, and it's got a VCR, and more shit to watch on video tape than channels."

"How do you use the bathroom here? Or shower?"

"Brush your teeth in the kitchen, we have a water pump outside to draw water, a wash tub down in the generator room, just fill it with water...if the pump didn't freeze that is, and heat it up over the fire over there. As for the bathroom..." he grinned, "Go outside. We also have pans underneath our beds if it's too damn cold out...just don't forget to dump it out every day, else it stinks the place up."

"You weren't kidding about the lack of privacy either..."

"Nope...in the coming months, we're gonna get to know each other _real_ well," and he chuckled, "Didn't Elliot tell you what you were getting into being transferred over here?"

"I asked for a transfer, he dropped me in the only available position he had."

"I see...so he conveniently left out the details?"

"Yup."

"Sounds like him...good thing we always _did_ get along anyway, huh? Well, post-Shade King bullshit anyway. Oh! Before I forget, there's one final surprise I got for you..." and he reached into his desk, pulling out a Gameboy Advance, "We _do_ have something to pass the time if reading, writing, drawing, or pondering the world doesn't suit you."

"Talk about low budget living."

"Gotta love the bachelor pad here, heh...least we have a boombox, and yes, it does still play CDs and cassette tapes. Also got my MP3 hooked up to it so...we got music. Honestly though? It's really not that bad. Takes some getting used to, but you learn to love it. You can go outside and actually see the stars...it's really quite nice, kinda romantic, too. Alex and Ruby would've had a blast here, like a never-ending honeymoon."

"So what do we do?"

Jazz nodded towards a door set into the wall, directly across from the one they used to enter the tower, "That heads out onto the balcony...what we call the 'Crow's Nest'. Literally, all we do is sit here and keep an eye out for any suspicious activity going on in the Burned Lands...and trust me, we actually do have quite a bit of shit that goes down out there. Usually it's just some frisky teens out past curfew or some drunken collegians from New Alexandria University, but we do get _some_ interesting shit sometimes," and he reached beneath his bed, pulling out a half-empty bottle of whiskey, "Want some? Found it a couple of weeks ago after chasing away a party...finders keepers," he chuckled.

"No thanks, I'll pass..." then Dash added, "So, we're literally park rangers."

"Kinda sorta...not sure if the state recognizes the Burned Lands as a protected park yet but...hey, I've seen crazier shit happen," and he popped off the lid, chugging down a quarter of the bottle's remaining contents and cringing beneath the taste, "Oh yeah! Hits the fuckin' spot!"

"How long are we out here?"

"Eight weeks here, then a week back home...at least, that's how it's _supposed_ to be. Instead I only go into town about once a month for a supply run, cause I really have no home to go to...I refuse to step foot in or even go _near_ Club Camelot. Besides, I like the isolation...the only bullshit we have to deal with is our own and we have full control and authority over the Burned Lands out there. We don't even answer to Elliot unless it's an emergency and could potentially threaten the city. We are our own bosses out here...and I fucking love it."

Dash grinned, "You're still apparently my C.O."

Jazz scoffed, "Technicalities can kiss my ass. You and me are on the same level. We're our own bosses, I like to keep it that way. We're all responsible for ourselves and ourselves alone, least that's how I see it. Then again, that's just my management style. I don't like being a 'boss', I'm your fucking brother. I've got your back and I hope to Christ that you've got mine. Don't care what you do or don't do, just so long as you carry your weight here, that's all I ask."

"You know me, that won't be a problem."

"Then we're gonna do just fine out here...now sit back and enjoy yourself. Cause this job is easy as hell, probably one of the easiest you can get in the militia."

As it turned out, things really were easier out here. Dash was more than happy with the ability to get away from the city, and thus memories of Alpha Company, and although she was partnered with Jazz, it didn't affect her nearly as much as being within the walls of the city did. Out here, they were completely isolated from the world, had very little dealing with anyone outside of each other, and found plenty of time to bond and befriend each other with the constant lack of action they saw. Every weekend they were required to file a report with Command over everything that had gone on the previous week, but they still didn't even have to leave their outpost to do so. They did have a laptop, powered off of the generator, that they could use, and even though Internet access out here wasn't great, it was good enough that they could do everything they had to do.

The lack of privacy was awkward at first, even though they were both former members of Alpha Company and were used to the openness that their old unit maintained thanks to the mutation serum. After the first week or so, however, things eased up and they became more comfortable around each other. Most of their nights were spent out in the Crow's Nest, watching as snow fell over the Burned Lands, telling tales and talking about their pasts, things that they never got around to talking about back when Alpha Company was still around. They discovered that they both had similar interests, similar frames of mind, and Dash finally found herself able to fully trust Jazz, something that she had been battling with ever since hearing about his treacherous past and his history as the Shade King, the one responsible for bringing her to the Terminator Militia in the first place.

They were also able to support each other through the grief over Alex's death, and within a month of staying out here in the wilderness, their grief had run its course, and although they still missed their friend and comrade, they had come to terms with his passing and had learned to accept it. People come and go, live and die, but the world still goes on. Although Dash herself was never one for routine, preferring to wake up each day to a new surprise, she found that it was, surprisingly, not bad doing what she was doing. Like anything else, it took some getting used to, but as time passed, it became easier and easier. There was a certain charm to the way they were living, as if they were back in medieval times again, doing physical book work by candlelight, passing the time with manual labor and physical activities. Jazz had learned to hunt in his time out here as well, and the oddly omnivorous rabbit thoroughly enjoyed spending time out in the Burned Lands, tracking and hunting game that had begun to return to the scorched wastes now that nature was reclaiming it in the absence of the _Fiernes Curtain_.

By the time Christmas rolled around, they were perfectly comfortable and satisfied in their routine, although they did have some problems keeping the bitter cold and snow out at times. Up here in the mountains, and even in the tundras outside the city walls, blizzards happened almost daily, and there were a few times where they found themselves snowed in. It also seemed that nobody was interested in leaving the safety of the city when there was two feet of snow on the ground, meaning that there was very little to do, forcing them to find various means of passing the time. Naturally, with this came more personal conversations, sharing intimate details about each other that they wouldn't otherwise speak. For example, Dash learned that the rabbit, although seemingly asexual and disinterested in finding a partner, identified himself as 'definitely' bisexual, although he assured her that he had no interest in anyone within their old group, male _or_ female, or even anyone in the other ranks. Dash then admitted that, despite her relationship with Alex, she believed herself to be more-or-less asexual, even though she did have a slight romantic interest in Ruby, albeit nothing she ever intended to admit or cash in on, 'nothing to really explore', as she described it.

"Surprised you're taking the lack of action so well," Jazz chuckled, "Sexy shit, I mean."

Dash shrugged, "Worse comes to worse, I can satisfy myself. I never intended to force Alex to juggle Ruby with me, it's pretty clear that he loves her more. So I was perfectly satisfied with giving them their space. Hell, I was more worried over his relationship with Sarah. I know it was none of my business but..." she shook her head, "I find it odd that she can be so accepting of his various relationships...surely she knew that, once Ruby arrived on scene, he would most likely want to choose the dolphin over her."

"Surprised you didn't jump in for the rebound on Ruby," the rabbit smirked, sipping at a cup of freshly brewed herbal tea.

Dash glared at him, "I'm not _that_ interested in her, jeez...don't tell me that I'm never gonna hear the end of that from you."

He grinned.

"Tell anyone, and I'll crush your balls," she spat.

"Kinky."

"Shut up," but she said this with light humor in her tone.

"Well," he began, leaning back in his chair with a squeak, "You ever need to feel the special touch of another man..." he pressed one furry thumb to his chest, "I'm your man," and he send her another one of his teasing grins.

"I'll keep that in mind," the Pegasus replied with a snort, "But don't count on it."

"Damn...gonna break my heart like that?"

"Thought your heart was as hard as stone and as cold as the wind out there."

"Ouch...that cuts pretty deep, y'know."

"I'm a heartbreaker, it's what I do best."

"Gonna start calling you Black Widow."

"Sounds pretty cool...maybe put some fear into the hearts of my enemies."

"What enemies? The rats skittering around downstairs after lights out?"

"Yeah...so what?" silence fell before them for several moments before Dash asked, "So...you ever miss being in Alpha Company?"

Jazz shrugged, "Sometimes...but I try not to think about it. I've learned not to dwell on the past, it keeps me alive and sane...and keeps me from collapsing beneath the weight of my past sins. Alpha Company was a chapter in the book of my life that's long-since finished, best leave it that way. We'll have plenty of time to reminisce when we're old and senile, waiting for the day the reaper comes a'knockin' on our doors."

Dash sighed, staring out the slotted windows into the whiteout beyond, obscuring all view of the Burned Lands, "Sometimes, usually later in the night when I'm waiting for go to sleep...I wonder where everyone is...if everyone is still alive and well. I guess I should still be able to sense them over the mind bank but...it's like the longer we go without using it to communicate, the harder it becomes to sense each other...like dust buries it or something."

"The way I see it, it's like working out. If you do it constantly and repeatedly, your muscles get bigger. But if you decide to slack off or stop all together, that mass will eventually drop off. I've always seen the mind bank as a muscle that we'd work every day. Now that we're no longer doing that, we'll grow out of practice and eventually it'll shrivel away until there's nothing left."

"Still can't believe that it's all over. You start to think that Alpha would last until the end of time...and now to look back and realize that all of that is gone...that it's finally over..." she shook her head, "It's really hard to wrap my brain around that."

"Things happen," Jazz replied, "People come and go from your life, jobs come and go...that's Time for you."

"Woulda thought that the friends we made in Alpha would last us into the grave...now they're gone."

"I think most of that is because of Alex...he really was the one who kept us together, the glue that kept this ragtag band of misfits in one piece. Now he's gone...there's nothing left keeping our differing ideals and beliefs from clashing and driving wedges between each other. Who knows though, maybe someday we'll have someone new rise to take up the mantle. Someone qualified to succeed Alex and get the band back together again."

"As much as I'd hope something like that would happen...I doubt it ever well, realistically, I mean. Alex was...he was unique, one of a kind."

"I would have to agree."

"And there won't ever be another soul like his again."

"Sadly."

"Anyway," and the Pegasus dimmed the lantern by her bed, "I'm tired, need some sleep."

"Agree," the rabbit replied, dimming the rest of the lanterns in the room, "Goodnight, Dash."

"'Night."

The next morning, Dash was awakened by Jazz, finding the rabbit dressing in his winter clothes. She sleepily asked, "What's going on?"

"Elliot called, said he's lost contact with one of our outposts, he wants us to check it out."

"Course he does..." and the Pegasus groaned, collapsing back beneath the covers.

"I know, I know..." the rabbit sighed, "Don't shoot the messenger. Besides, it's not _that_ bad outside. Snow's still coming down pretty hard, but it's not that cold or windy."

"Do we have to go out this early?" and Dash cast an uneasy glance towards the predawn sky.

"It must be urgent if Elliot is trying to contact us...so yes. Besides, enjoy the fact that we finally have something to do. Need to get out every once in awhile, prevents cabin fever."

"I wouldn't mind cabin fever, just so long as I'm nice and toasty."

Jazz chuckled, "Get ready, Dash."

She scoffed, "Fine..."


	24. Chapter XXIII: Asylum

_**Chapter XXIII**_ **:**

 **-''Asylum''-**

 **-New Alexandria, Montana-**

 **- _16 May 2015_ -**

 **- _2218 Hours_ -**

"What are we gonna do about Ruby?" Spyro asked, standing in the center of Suite 1, surrounded by the rest of Alpha Company. He had called a meeting with the others of the unit to discuss what they were going to do in the situation with Ruby and her suicidal tendencies, "We can't keep doing this," the dragon sighed, "We don't have the time to dedicate to taking care of her."

"She obviously wants to die, so who are we to keep her from doing that," Piermont replied.

"This isn't some joking matter!" Cynder hissed.

"I'm not joking," the human-form dragon replied coldly, "I'm serious. It's her life, she should be able to decide what _she_ wants to do."

"She's just not thinking clearly," Dash replied, "Once she calms down, things will get better."

"You don't know that," Piermont growled.

"No, I don't," the Pegasus replied, "But I _do_ know Ruby. She doesn't always think before she does something."

"So what do you suggest we do?"

"Well..." Spyro began, "There's a mental hospital in Helena, that way Ruby can get all the care and attention she needs, without bogging us down. If we weren't having to deal with the Reapers, it'd be a different story. Because we are though, we just don't have the time or energy to expend on her and keeping her out of trouble."

"Yeah, and they're just gonna happily accept a crazy fucking dolphin, what a wonderful plan, Spearow."

"Luckily, I talked to Bleu about this very thing earlier. He said he could make a modified version of the mutation serum to force a human form on an animalian member of ours. She'd still have to be regularly dosed up on it, but she'll maintain a human form and will be unable to turn back."

"She's clearly suffering," Piermont growled spitefully, "I still don't think we should get between her and whatever it is she wants to do. If she wants to suicide, who are we to stop her. One less problem for everyone...and helluva lot more merciful than abandoning her at the nearest asylum."

"Don't think Rocket would like that very much," Cynder replied.

"Who cares about that stupid fucking raccoon," Piermont hissed, "He's not one of us. He hasn't lost anyone yet, so he has no say in the matter. He has no influence in our decisions."

Cynder sighed, "I know we really have no other option...but this still feels so wrong...we're basically abandoning her."

"Cyn...we can't keep doing this," Spyro replied, "We can't keep her under constant observation every second of the day...we just can't. I want to do this about as much as you do...but we really have no choice...we need to dedicate our full attention to the Reapers without distractions, especially now that we've lost the _Ring_ , our only _real_ method of defense against them."

"I know, I know...it just...it feels wrong."

"So..." Spyro began, ignoring his mate and addressing the rest of the group, "What are we gonna do? Should I make the call?"

Cynder opened her mouth as if preparing to protest, but remained silent, deciding it was best not to get involved.

"How about I make it easier on everyone," Piermont scowled, "Give me the gun and I'll issue the _coup de gr_ _â_ _ce_ myself. That way none of you bastards will have to have it on your consciences."

"We're not killing her!" Cynder exclaimed, mortified.

The human-form dragon only shook his head in silence, "So we're just gonna pawn all our problems on some other sorry sap...disgusting."

"Make the call," Aria replied, breaking her silence, and the others of Alpha Company all nodded in agreement.

"So it's decided then," Spyro replied with a sigh, Piermont growling behind him, "I'll call the hospital first thing tomorrow. Hopefully by the time Ruby is released, Bleu will have that modded serum ready."

The next day, they were called by the hospital taking care of Ruby, informing them that she had recovered from the sucide attempt and was due to be released that night. With this news, and while the High Command went to finalize the dolphin's release from care, Spyro worked on setting everything up for Ruby to be taken to the asylum, finally breathing a sigh of relief once everything had been cleared through. She was going to spend that night in New Alexandria, under heavy observation from the already sleep-deprived Alpha Company, then she would be shipped first thing the next morning to Helena, where she would remain for an indeterminate amount of time.

Upon the dolphin's return home to Club Camelot, she was forced to looked towards the ground as she passed through, everyone around her cast her distrustful and hurt glances, cutting her deeper than a knife. They felt she had betrayed her, and perhaps she had...realizing that what she had tried to do was nothing more than a testament to her selfishness, and she swore she would not try that ever again. She let her emotions get the better of her, and she promised that it wouldn't happen again. Upon entering Suite 1, she finally managed to escape the accusing stares of her friends, starting in surprise when Athena tackled her to the ground, lovingly licking her face, and Tiberius lowered his head to her body, snorting and demanding to be pet.

The actions of the two raptors cheering her up, she couldn't help but to allow a grin to break through, and she looked up to see the rest of Alpha Company arriving, granting her no acknowledgment. Something seemed off about all of this, something seemed wrong, and the dolphin was both worried and scared.

When Sapphire entered, at the end of the group, she strolled over to the bull, asking, "What's wrong? Is everything okay?"

The male dolphin only looked sadly towards her before wordlessly walking away. His aura radiated sadness and heavy guilt...what had she missed?

"Ruby," Spyro began, appearing behind her, "Can we talk for a little bit?"

"Sure..." the cow replied, turning to face the dragon, seemingly exhausted.

"Come with me..." and he led her back to the room he shared with Cynder, finding the female dragon already laying down on the bed she shared with her mate, head resting on her paws.

"What's going on?" the dolphin asked once Spyro shut the door behind them, leading her towards the bed, "Everybody seems sad for some reason."

"Well..." Spyro began, "Not sure how to break this but...while you were in the hospital...Alpha Company and I had a long chat about some things..."

"Listen, I'm sorry for what happened. I know, I was stupid and selfish, I know that now. If you give me another chance, I promise it won't happen again."

"No, it won't..." Spyro sighed, then finally, "Listen, Ruby...I was talking to the others...we can't...we can't keep doing this. We can't keep taking care of you, we can't keep babysitting you to make sure that stupid shit like this doesn't happen. Now that we've lost the _Ring_ , the Reapers are more dangerous than ever...we need to concentrate our full attention on them...we can't afford to waste any time babysitting."

"What do you mean?" the dolphin responded, heart sinking.

"Ruby...tomorrow morning, you'll be going to a new home. A special place that will make sure you have friends, that you're well taken care of...they will take good care of you."

Ruby was understandably horrified, her jaw had dropped, and she stammered, "B-b-but wait! I-I-I don't wanna leave!" and her eyes clouded over beneath tears.

"If anything," Spyro continued, "It will be a temporary solution...at least until this Reaper problem is taken care of. But right now, we just don't have the time or energy to spend distracted from those machines. We're fighting an uphill battle right now, we can't afford to be sidetracked from little things like this. Besides, seeing the sorry state that Alpha Company is in without Alex...this isn't a healthy place for someone like you to be. We can barely keep a hold of ourselves, let alone someone like you who's grieving. It just can't be done."

"Please! I promise, I'll be a better person! Just don't leave me! I don't wanna go!"

"It's not forever, Ruby," Cynder replied in a soothing tone, "It's just for a little while."

"Please...don't do this...please don't..."

"I'm sorry Ruby, but our decision has already been made," Spyro stated firmly, "Everything's already been finalized."

"Don't leave me..."

"We're not going to leave you, Ruby," Cynder replied with a sad smile, "Think of it as...like a vacation...a getaway from things for awhile."

"You're abandoning me..."

"We're not abandoning you, we're making sure that you get the help that you need...that you have an environment that will support you and help you through the grieving process...Alpha Company, as we are right now, cannot do that for you, not when we're barely maintaining our own as it is."

"How long would I be gone..."

Cynder shrugged, "It's hard telling...at least until we get everything squared away with the Reapers first, then figure out how to deal with our own grief. Right now, this place, these people, they're incredibly hostile. You're kind, generous, and sensitive, it's not healthy to be exposed to this when what you really need is help and support. The place we're sending you will take good care of you, they'll get you the help you need. Then, hopefully someday soon, you can come back, and things will be golden again."

Breaking up into a fresh wave of tears, the dolphin turned around and ran off, feeling betrayed and heartbroken, unwanted, and unloved.

"When _do_ you think we'd be able to bring her back..." Cynder asked after several moments of silence.

Spyro shook his head, "There's no guarantee we will _ever_ be able to, that's why I wasn't going to make promises."

"So you're literally just wanting to abandon her."

"She's too vulnerable," the dragon replied bitterly, "We are only as strong as our weakest link. There is no place in this army for her...especially against the Reapers."

"You're really becoming a stranger to me, Spyro. What happened to you?"

"I changed," the dragon hissed, "We _all_ have changed! War _changes_ people, I'd assume you'd know that more than anyone else, right?"

"You're becoming a monster..."

Spyro smirked, "It happens...and it's not like I have much of a choice. We have to do what's necessary to survive...and I have to pull the hard decisions because it's my responsibility to ensure this army survives through everything. That's why Alex made me his wing-second and second-in-command, it's my responsibility to fill his position when he isn't able to."

"I don't even know you anymore..." and Cynder stormed off, leaving him alone.

While Ruby slept peacefully in hers and Sapphire's pool, Spyro quietly approached them, armed with two syringes. The cow slept tangled with the bull dolphin, who, apparently awake, whispered, "I still do not believe this is the right thing to do...although I understand your reasoning."

He gently untangled himself from the sleeping female, nuzzling her affectionately before nodding towards the dragon, "Make it quick, before she wakes."

Crouching beside the pool, unable to accept what he was doing, but knowing that he had no choice, Spyro first injected her with the mutation suppressant, awakening Ruby who was quickly on the offensive. Furious at his betrayal, the dolphin pulled him into the water, forcing him down under and holding him there. He cried out in alarm, trying to reach the surface for breath while Sapphire attempted to get her off of the dragon. Finally, Ruby was distracted enough that Spyro was able to break free of her restraining grasp, reaching for the syringe he had dropped and jamming it into her body, right behind her skull. She cried out in pain, falling back and screaming, "What did you do to me!? What's happening!?"

She tried to hold back the forced transformation, but to no avail, and in a flash of light, she had taken on her human form once again. Realizing what they were doing, she attempted to engage the dragon again, finding that, in this form with her mutations suppressed, she was far weaker than he was. Spyro easily managed to restrain her as Jazz and an unknowing Rocket raced out on the deck. "Jazz!" the dragon began, struggling to maintain his restraining control over the human-form dolphin, "Get me some tranquilizers! Now!"

"Wait a minute...what are you doing to her!?" Rocket spat, "Leave her alone!"

"Stay out of this!" Spyro growled, "This is for the best of everyone! _Including_ her!"

"You're hurting her!"

"Rocket!" Ruby wailed mournfully, "Help me!"

"Son of a..." the raccoon began, leaping into the water and swimming towards Spyro.

"Stay away from me!" the dragon hissed, "I'm warning you!"

Soon after, Jazz raced back out onto the deck once again, throwing another syringe towards the dragon, who caught it, despite both Ruby and Rocket reaching for it. Just as the furious and heartbroken Ruby, viciously squirming in his grasp, was about to break free, Spyro stabbed the syringe into her jugulars, injecting its contents and pulling the syringe away. Within seconds, Ruby was subdued and heavily sedated, and Spyro dragged her out of the pool, throwing her unconscious body on the deck.

"You bastard!" Rocket growled, sounding as if he was near tears, "Why would you do something like that!"

"Sometimes you have to cut off a finger to save the hand," the dragon replied coldly, out of breath, "This is all for the best."

"Are all of you a bunch of heartless monsters!?"

"Should have thought twice about that before shoehorning yourself into our lives. This is just another day at the office."

Upon entering Club Camelot once more, with Spyro carrying Ruby towards the elevator, he was frightened by a low growl, and he cried out in alarm was a gray blur tackled him from out of nowhere, pinning him to the ground. "Jesus! What the hell!?" he cried as Tiberius stood over him, hissing and snapping at his throat, "Somebody do something! Get this beast off of me!"

"Karma's a bitch, ain't it?" Rocket replied with a dark grin.

One of the raptor's thrusts manage to land, and Spyro howled as the beast's jaw tore a chunk of flesh and scale from his throat. "Tiberius!" a female voice howled, and Aphrodite, trailed by Zinnia, rushed over to them. While the triceratops worked on forcing the furious raptor off of the dragon, Zinnia ran to Spyro's side, who was now holding a bloody paw to his bleeding throat.

"Get me a towel!" Zinnia ordered, and Jazz ran off, disappearing inside of Suite 1.

Finally, Aphrodite managed to get Tiberius under control, but not before the beast turned its head to the sky and let out an eerie call. They could faintly hear Athena answering him with a growl, and the door to Suite 1 was thrown open as the female raptor barreled through pouncing onto and clawing at Zinnia's back. She slammed her back—and thus the beast—against the wall, dazing it and dislodging it. Athena howled in pain, her grip loosening. By now, Zinnia's back was against the fiberglass banister, and as she viciously shook the raptor off her back. Athena, disoriented, placed one clawed paw against the railing, howling as she slipped off and dangled over the fatal two hundred foot drop. In a last-ditch effort to keep her footing and prevent the fall, Athena snapped her jaw around, clenching her razor-sharp fangs it around Zinnia's side. The girl responded by elbowing the beast's head painfully, and with a mournful wail, her grip broke free and the female raptor plummeted. She fell four floors, smashing her head against the railing of the banister four levels down and falling towards the carpeted floor of the level, unconscious and spared from the fatal drop onto the tile flooring at the base of the rotunda.

"NO! SISTER!" Tiberius howled, in nearly perfect English, much to the surprise of everyone in the room as he raced towards the balcony, Spyro's blood dripping from his maw and splattering across the white, ceramic tile floor and yellow, stucco walls of the penthouse floor. The beast leaped over the banister, plummeting down to the level where Athena had falling, snapping his jaw around the railing and using the momentum of his fall to swing himself over it. They could hear a dull thump as he smacked into the wall of the darkened floor and hit the ground on his side with enough force to knock the wind out of him, evidenced by a surprised squeak.

Spyro remained sitting behind the unconscious Ruby, holding the towel to his bloody neck and scowling as blue healing sparks danced across the injury, healing his wounds. Zinnia, hand clutching her bloody, white t-shirt sat against the wall, wincing as her mutations began to heal _her_ wounds as well. Aphrodite stood over the balcony, looking down to where Tiberius and Athena had fallen, "A-Are you g-g-guys okay? Wh-where are you!?"

"I hope they're dead!" Spyro howled, "If I see them again, I am going to rip them to shreds!"

"Heh..." Rocket chuckled, "Instant karma..."

"Fuck you."

Aphrodite and Jazz took the elevator down onto the level where Tiberius and Athena had fallen, finding the two raptors laying sprawled out across the floor, surrounded by the occupants of the floor. "Outta my way!" Jazz hissed, shoving his way through the crowd and towards the two beasts. Athena was unconscious, but alive, and Tiberius, who had clawed himself to his sister's side, nuzzled her affectionately with his bloody muzzle.

"Dear Sister..." he muttered, deep voice almost too quiet to be heard.

"You can talk!?" Jazz exclaimed, "Why didn't you before!?"

"I would ask the same thing, rabbit," Tiberius growled, "That dragon...did something to me. When I tasted his blood, the world opened up to me, I saw, heard, and felt things that I had never done before."

"Great...so devouring the blood of a mutant has the glorious side effect of mutating you, too...which means Athena is probably sentient now, too."

"I am sorry for hurting him...but he attacked my mother, what else was I supposed to do?"

"Yeah, well you're 'mother' did this to herself, no sympathy there."

"She did no wrong to anyone!" Tiberius hissed, stepping towards the rabbit, "Only herself!"

"Listen, I dunno what all of our situation you were able to grasp in your dumb-as-a-box-of-rocks state prior to this little revelation of yours, but we're fighting a war against a race of machines that want nothing more than to drive all sentient species into extinction. They're the ones that created you, so I'd assume you know at least _partially_ what's going on. Ruby is a liability, and we can't keep dumping resources and energy on making sure she doesn't go around doing stupid shit, to herself or otherwise. If anything, we're saving her life! Then again, why the hell should I explain this to you? Once Spyro is up and going again, you're as good as dead."

"And I accept my fate, just so long as my sister remains unharmed...she's young, foolish, naive...she has yet to learn how to control herself."

"You're the same fucking age!"

"Emotional maturity is not equivalent to physical maturity."

Jazz found himself unsure how to respond, so he merely looked away, viciously punching a hole in the vertically striped, forest green, wallpapered wall of the floor.

By the time Ruby gained consciousness once again, unaware of what had occurred in Club Camelot, and still unaware of Tiberius and Athena's newly gained mutations, she was restrained to a cot and being escorted through the fenced courtyard of some alien place. Up ahead, an old, brick building loomed over her, approximately four or five floors, with arched windows and moss growing across its face. Mossy gargoyles perched upon the corners of the rectangular roof of the building. Centered on the roof was a metal, ribbed dome, with an iron morning star perched upon the top of it, like an angel on a Christmas tree. The fence itself appeared old as well, consisting of decorative iron bars set into a white-painted brick base, giving the area the appearance of a stereotypical haunted mansion. There was a playground nearby, full of adults, playing like children.

"Where am I..." Ruby replied in a slurred tone, "What's...what's going on?" and she looked around, finding herself flanked by Spyro, whose neck was bandaged up, Jazz, and Aria.

Upon reaching the decorative wooden door into the building's interior, her eyes caught two more gargoyles, perched upon the corners of the marble steps leading to it. She was led into the building, appearing very old, the cracked but sturdy plaster walls painted a fading, spring green, and broken, vinyl tile floors snaking throughout. As she was led through the halls to the office, passing through a metal detector in the process, she could hear moans and insane ramblings from the surrounding rooms. A few patients, usually adults, stumbled drunkenly passed them, staring at her and mumbling to themselves as she passed by.

"I don't wanna be here..." Ruby replied mournfully, "I wanna go home..." but she was ignored, "Please...take me home...I don't wanna stay here..."

Once the she had been checked in and passed into the care of the doctors, her Alpha Company escorts were quick to leave, heading back home. She cried for them to take her with them, or at least stay with her for a little while longer. However, they ignored her pleas, and it didn't take long for her to realize that this _wasn't_ intended to be some temporary solution for her...they were fully intending to forget about her here. The doctor in charge of her case, a friendly man of late twenties with brown eyes, black hair and a black goatee, gave her a brief tour of her new home, ending with taking her to lunch before showing her to her private room. She didn't eat, and she said nothing through her depression, unable to accept the realization that she had been abandoned.

Once the door closed behind her, trapping her in her room, she walked over to the only window, cracked open to allow the fresh, warm air into the room, smelling of mowed grass. She gently sat down upon the sill, placing her head against the reinforced window and staring out into the lawn beyond. Beyond the walls of the asylum, through the encompassing forest, she could see a distant city on the horizon, and she found herself thinking about the occupants of the city, going about their daily business, oblivious to the world around them, so wrapped up in their day-to-day activities that they weren't aware of the life they were living, and the oft-forgotten luxury of freedom.

She silently lamented all she had done, furious at herself for letting her emotions get the better of her. Now she had a crossed a line she wasn't even aware that she was nearing...and was heartbroken to realize that she had lost everything. Her friends had left her here to rot, fully intending to forget about her. They had suffered enough dealing with her, and now they were unwilling to take the stress any longer. She had once more ruined everything she had, and now she was left with nothing once again...suffering from yet another sequence of bad luck in the ongoing cycle of suffering she was forced to endure due to her actions as the archangel Vitamel.

The next day, Ruby sat upon the stairs of the building, leaning up against the pedestal to the left of the entrance, watching the other patients, in varying states of mental illness and capability, enjoying their free time. All she could think about was her home, about how the few friends she still had in Alpha Company were taking her absence. Were they all in this? Secretly plotting against her? Or did Spyro, or Piermont, or one of her enemies with authority and influence in the ranks force this decision upon them?

"I want to go home..." she sighed, "I hate it here...I want to go back home..."

How many friends did she even have left back home? Sapphire, Dash, and Rocket seemed to be the only ones to come to mind, perhaps Cynder, too...although the she-dragon seemed to have mixed feelings about the dolphin.

 _Hey_ , a young, female voice spoke telepathically to her, _Why are you so down?_

Ruby stiffened, looking around, trying to find the source of the voice, "What? Who's there!?"

 _Wait...you can hear me?_

"Of course I can...what's going on? Who are you?"

 _Oh wow...it's been so long since someone could hear me...ha._

"Who are you? _Where_ are you?"

 _Up here, silly!_

The human-form dolphin looked up towards the sky, seeing nothing, "What?"

 _No, no, no...I'm right here! Behind you!_

Ruby quickly turned around, peeking out around the pedestal. There was no one nearby, and definitely no one trying to talk to her.

The voice scoffed, _Up here..._

Ruby once more looked towards the sky, and upon not seeing anyone, anxiously looked around the area, her eyes finally settling on the gargoyle, unmoving, staring blankly towards the furs on the other side of the fence. "Are you...the gargoyle?"

 _Yeah...I know...kinda big and scary right?_

"How the hell...how are you talking to me?"

 _I dunno...how can you hear me? Nobody has been able to, and even_ he _said that nobody_ would _. That I was nothing more than a voice in his head...it actually made me kinda sad, but now I'm proud of myself. Even though he is gone...I'm still alive, which means that he was wrong all along, and I'm not just a voice in his head. I'm a real girl!_

"What's your name?"

 _What's_ your _name?_

"My name is Ruby..." and the human-form dolphin nodded, "My friends...I did some stupid stuff and my friends left me here..."

 _I'm sorry to hear that...but I can be your new friend!_ then she responded with a light, childlike laugh, _And my name? Well, you can just call me Lucy._


	25. Chapter XXIV: Rage Against the Machine

_**Chapter XXIV**_ **:**

 **-''Rage Against the Machine''-**

 **-Above the Gothics, Atlantic Ocean-**

 **- _17 May 2015_ -**

 **- _1318 Hours_ -**

 _One of our own has connected to Alpha Company's neural network, we now know how to infiltrate them. All units are to follow this procedure..._

While Harbinger transferred its knowledge of how the two traitors of _Perditus_ successfully connected to Alpha Company's mutual mind bank, Ares and Thanatos initiated the preliminary assault on the island of Tamriel, one of the nations in the collective cluster of islands known as the Gothics, friendly to the Terminator Militia, although centuries behind mainland continents technologically speaking.

"What exactly is our assignment, Ares," Thanatos asked his companion.

"Although these nations lack the state of advancement that the rest of the world possesses, they are allied with our enemies."

"Are they going to provide any benefit to our forces?"

"The collapse of morale in the Terminator Militia, what we need to exploit to win their favor."

"I still fail to understand why their extermination is important," Thanatos growled.

"Because it is the will of Harbinger," Ares responded.

"We should at least decide how to dispose of the traitors. As long as these beings of our creation remain in the hands of Alpha Company, if they decide to kill and experiment on those beasts, what if they could learn something that could pose a threat to us?"

"When the time comes, those beasts will be activated, regardless if it is their will. Harbinger agrees that we are in no danger, they will help us to destroy the militia, even if they don't realize it."

"Yes, Ares."

"Now, we must go, it is time to show these creatures the glory of our race, and the gift of our salvation."

"Yes, Ares."

The Reaper forces disabled their cloaking systems as they neared the southern reaches of Tamriel, trumpeting in preparation for the attack. They were almost instantly fired upon by ballistae from the fortified shoreside cities, but the bolts merely smacked against the shielded hulls of the ships, dealing no damage. Due to the lack of threat that the Reapers knew the Gothics posed, Harbinger had only elected two ships to join the assault, and even then to do little but act as overwatch and support. This was almost purely an operation for the Infected and Indoctrinated, although there was some questioning as to why Ares and Thanatos were involved in the affair. Upon reaching land, the Reaper forces began to deposit suicide dropships to infect the surrounding settlements with spores, following this with the deployment of the first wave of Indoctrinated-commanded Infected units.

There were some _Perditus_ units involved in the assault as well, but due to the continuously diminishing supply, given that the main manufacturing plant for them had been destroyed, and the unit created for the sake of manufacturing the ancient creatures had defected. The Reaper generals did wonder whether Alpha Company was going to become involved in the battle, and given that the two traitorous raptors, what they called Tiberius and Athena, who were always connected to the Reaper hivemind, were now capable of human speech, giving them the chance to report the location of Reaper forces at any given time, both Ares and Thanatos were expecting, and even hoping, for the mutated unit to arrive. Harbinger wanted Alpha Company to be captured and broken, forced to join forces with the armada to give them a large advantage over the resistance, but both generals also knew that there would be a fight before any single member of the unit, even the emotionally weakest ones like the female dolphin or either of the two dragons, Spyro or Piermont, would submit.

It was a risk they were willing to take, as the prize for success was too tantalizing to pass up. Harbinger had developed a sort of fascination, almost an obsession, for the mutant division, given their surprising resilience in combat, their iron wills, even under pressure from within their own unit, their careful and eerie synchronization, and their ability to resist and fight back against the Reapers. If Ares or Thanatos managed to capture and break them, it would be an incredible victory for the machines' glorious mission.

Upon landing on the southern beaches, the Reaper forces scattered into groups of four to five hundred, each heading in a different direction. At the front of the largest party, Ares nodded forward, "The nearest human settlement is .28 kilometers northwest, advance!"

It didn't take long for them to reach the settlement, finding it to be one of the smallest ones on the island. By the time they had arrived, another group had engaged in combat with the locals, and while the civilians were still chaotically trying to navigate the burning village to find safety against the onslaught of technologically superior soldiers, the town guard desperately tried to fight back against them, finding little luck in their attempts. A Trojan ship had crashed just north of the town limits, and the golden dust carrying the infection spores hanged low over the entire northern half of the settlement. Occasionally, a newly infected townsman would run out of the encompassing smoke and join in the fight against the guards.

Ares and Thanatos joined in on the fight, splitting ways to cut cleanly through the defending guards and townsfolk, unfazed by their futile attempts at resistance. Often the civilians, once cornered, would plead for mercy, not knowing the true threat of the Reaper armada, or their inability to feel empathy. If anything, these pleas proved to be more of a nuisance than anything else, and Thanatos would often cut them down before they had a chance to open their mouths, growing annoyed at the interruptions in his blood lust.

 _They're coming!_ Harbinger spoke to them, _Alpha Company is arriving to engage...and the traitors are with them._ _Ares, Thanatos, head to this islands heartland, the airship carrying the mutants is heading in that direction. We will send additional vanguards to provide support and reinforcements._

 _As predicted,_ Ares replied, _We shall do as you wish, Harbinger._

 _Go there at once, they will be landing soon...ensure that you are there to greet them._

 _With pleasure..._ then Ares contacted Thanatos directly, _Regroup with me just south of the city's boundaries, we will warp to the center of this pathetic nation. Our 'friends' are waiting._

 _Will they pose a threat?_ Thanatos asked back.

 _Negative, they are broken, desynchronized. They are not even complete, the female dolphin, Ruby, is nowhere to be found._

 _Dead?_

 _No, I can sense her...she's alive, but incarcerated, nowhere near here, nowhere near her allies. We will take care of her at a later time, for now, we must concentrate on fighting, subduing, and capturing Alpha Company, then breaking them for Harbinger. They will join us or die trying._

 _Yes, Ares...but what of the_ Perditus _fugitives?_

 _They intend to fight against us, but we will break their spirit, we will recapture them, reprogram them, or we will deactivate them. Their rage is limitless, dangerous, but it is instinctual, unfounded, and predictable. It will be their undoing. We will break them, and they will join us once more...followed by the rest of their newfound brethren. Alpha Company will become their prey and perish, or submit to our glory, this will be their ultimatum, and we will ensure it. For Harbinger._

 _Yes, Ares. For Harbinger._


	26. Chapter XXV: Fire and Water

_**Chapter XXV**_ **:**

 **-''Fire and Water''-**

 **-Cyrodiil, Tamriel-**

 **- _17 May 2015_ -**

 **- _1512 Hours_ -**

Alpha Company's Hornet landed in a clearing just outside of the remains of Imperial City, destroyed during the Siege of Cyrodiil a few years earlier and slowly starting to rebuild itself. Upon their landing beside a nearby lake situated in a natural basin, they were instantly engaged by _Perditus_ and Infected soldiers, splitting them up and forcing them to seek whatever cover they could from the swarms of enemies. "We can't just stay in one place!" Spyro snapped, "We need to keep moving!"

"Obviously," Rapid replied.

"Is anybody else wondering why the Reapers would come all the way out here to wreak havoc?" Jazz spat, "It's not like this place is highly advanced or anything...I thought they were targeting technologically advanced societies, not ones trapped in the fuckin' stone ages!"

"Don't think _anybody_ knows why they do shit around here," Piermont spat, "They just do."

"Well, I'd advise we get out of this bowl anyway," Spyro replied, "Last thing we want is get confined down here when another group decides to come mass-attacking us."

They circled around the lake, heading to a natural ramp that descended into the basin on the opposite side from where they landed. They dodged the Reaper forces whenever they could, unwilling to engage too many of them in such cramped quarters. A few would occasionally fall into the lake, causing Alpha Company to realize that they, at least the Infected and _Perditius_ anyway, could not swim. They also noticed that there was as surprising lack of Indoctrinated commanding the organized and surprisingly efficient Infected forces, hinting that either Ares, Thanatos, or both were nearby.

"Great," Cynder sighed, "Just what we need...to deal with Ares and Thanatos."

"Why do you think they're here?" Spyro asked, "Figured they'd have much more important places to be than somewhere like this place."

"Well, the last time we saw the Infected so ordered despite a noticeable lack in Indoctrinated to command them, we were in Chicago, and it was our first standoff against those two."

"We shouldn't be here..." Tiberius began, speaking up for the first time since his accidental mutation, "My sister and I are connected to _Perditus_ , when one of them dies, we can sense it...if any more of them are killed, I fear for our sanity."

"You turn on us and I'll be the _FIRST_ person to put a bullet in your heads!" Spyro growled.

"I have no intention of betrayal, Dragon," the raptor continued, "Merely stating my fears."

"First off, the name's Spyro, and if you're gonna stick around here for very long, you better start learning our names."

"Um...can't this wait, Spyro?" Cynder replied uneasily, peering out of cover towards another cluster of approaching Infected, "We have more important things to worry about than our raptor friends learning our names."

"Actually, we are _deinonychus_ , according to our creator."

"Right, _Jurassic Park_ -typeraptors, got it," Jazz said grimly, "Back to the situation at hand."

Tiberius only snorted in response, grunting irritatingly.

They finally reached the grassy incline, sliding on the muddy earth in an attempt to scale it back to higher ground. They eventually succeeded in between waves, and turning back, they watched as the Infected that had slid down to engage them were unable to climb back up, saving them from the hassle of dealing with a large crowd of the bothersome creatures. Unfortunately, they faced their next obstacle soon after...Reaper ships appeared to be crashing themselves around the clearing, a dirty, golden dust trailing along behind them and filling the valley.

"Infection spores!" Cynder exclaimed, "Don't breathe it in! Try to stay away from it!"

"So...we meet again, don't we?" a maddened, mechanical voice chuckled, interrupting the she-dragon. All eyes turned to the sky as a Reaper dropship lowered to a hover several feet above the ground, first Thanatos, then Ares, dropping down onto the burning, muddy ground. The two Reaper generals glowed eerily in the light of the burning trees around Alpha Company, and both of them walked determinedly towards the mutant unit, weapons drawn and ready to attack.

"Thanatos..." Cynder grimaced, "Ares...you two were responsible for the _Ring_ , weren't you?"

"Indeed we were," Thanatos said again, gleefully snickering, "And a damn fine job we did I'd say."

"Enough conversation, Thanatos," Ares scowled, "We have our orders: Kill Alpha Company!"

The mutant division, clustered together, scattered every which way as Ares and Thanatos launched at them with eerie, unnatural agility. The various members of Alpha Company attempted to take down the generals, but found that Ares and Thanatos, perfectly in sync with one another, overpowered the mutant division with alarming ease. Spyro charged towards Ares, hoping to take down the general while he was distracted dealing with Jazz and Rapid. As he launched himself towards the creature, however, Ares cleanly picked him from the sky, smacking him several times against the ground before throwing him over the ledge and back into the basin, where dozens of Infected soldiers were cluttering against the cliff face, clawing at it and trying to climb back up to help their commanders. Several of the creatures took notice of Spyro's landing, charging towards and tackling him, pinning him to the ground and snapping at his neck. The dragon tried to call for help, but found that nobody could hear him. Just as the last of his energy was expended trying to keep the creatures from biting him, Tiberius rocketed by, knocking the group away from the dragon and diverting their attention. Soon, Athena joined the party, and the two mangled and mauled the Infected soldiers to death.

Once the immediate threat was neutralized, Tiberius nudged Spyro into a standing position, asking, "Are you okay?"

The dragon, unsure of what to say, only managed to nod in the affirmative before a ball of fire emerged from seemingly out of nowhere, plowing into the raptor's side and sending him flying several feet out into the water.

"Brother!" Athena growled, shortly before she was thrown into the cliff face and subsequently knocked unconscious by a large boulder lobbed at her by Ares. Spyro quickly flamed the large group of Infected clawing at the wall, taking them down before flying back up to the top of the cliff, rejoining Alpha Company in the fight against the overwhelming Reaper numbers.

Meanwhile, Tiberius, unable to swim, struggled to make his way to the shallows of the lake, dark red, almost black blood trailing from where a sharp, underwater rock had punctured his side. He barely reached the surface of the lake before his air supply ran out, collapsing onto the muddy bank, gasping for breath. His eyes fell upon Athena, and all of his exhaustion and pain was instantly forgotten as he rushed to his unconscious sister's side. He began to nudge her onto his back before he became aware of a peculiar, weightless sensation across his body and he was lifted into the air, thrown across the basin and back into the depths of the lake.

He surfaced once again, turning around to see the creature known as Thanatos flipping into the basin and zipping around the circular arena, chuckling, "Am I too fast for you? Pitiful beast! You are a traitor and will suffer as such!"

Ares dropped down onto the basin to join him, and the two Reaper generals, without another word, began to launch attacks towards the raptor, who barely managed to avoid them. He tried to figure out what to do, hoping he could figure out some way to defeat them. Unfortunately, he had no experience in combat, all he knew were some very basic ideas and concepts etched into his DNA during the creation process. Very little of those involved any sort of combat, save the instinctual rage that the creatures of _Perditus_ relied on to fight. Even then, those ideas were incomplete, as Aphrodite had tried to erase as much of the Reaper programming as she could to prevent him and his sister from becoming tools to the machines. Even if they _were_ complete, he still doubted that the would help him much against the powerful Reaper generals, the vessels of Harbinger itself.

For several minutes, Tiberius distracted the generals, dodging their attacks and studying their strategies, searching for a pattern that he could exploit. If there was _one_ thing he was grateful for, they had been preprogrammed with a nearly eidetic memory. Eventually, he _did_ begin to notice patterns in their fighting styles, and Tiberius rapidly tried to figure out what he could do to counter them...there had to be something he could do. He was connected to the Reaper hivemind, as was both Aphrodite and Athena, and although he and sister were only vaguely part of it, they still had some very basic access, giving him some foresight into what the generals were thinking and planning next. Once he had roughly memorized Ares' and Thanatos' strategies, Tiberius allowed his mind to distract itself long enough with trying to concentrate and remember anything and everything he could, trying to access the deeper reaches of the Reaper hivemind to learn how to fight. Once he had a few ideas in mind, he tested them, finding that it wasn't nearly as easy as he thought it would be. He was knocked around quite a bit, injured several times, but his mutations healed the majority of his injuries. Eventually, he figured out a few basic maneuvers, and although he was struck several times for each blow he managed to land, he was at least able to hold his own.

"Well, you're stronger than I suspected," Thanatos replied, sounding annoyed, "Regardless, you are nothing more than a waste of our time...we have more important matters to attend to!"

"I'm not finished with you yet!" Tiberius roared furiously.

"Oh, but we are finished with _you_ ," the general chuckled, telekinetically throwing Tiberius into the wall of the basin once again. Dazed, he looked around, vision dull and blurred, ears ringing, his entire body aching. He slowly began to pick himself up, wanting to reach his sister before, after taking one step forward, his vision cut out completely and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Alpha Company was quickly overwhelmed by the Reaper forces, although they refused to surrender, doing whatever they could to take as many of them down as possible. Finally, the constant combat eased up when the Infected horde ceased attacking and began to creep backwards, encircling the scattered mutant division. Ares and Thanatos leaped onto the scene once again, both soon engaging the unit, with Thanatos taunting them, "What will it take before you realize that you are inferior to us? The glory of the Reapers cannot be suppressed! If anything, the destruction of your superweapon should be evidence of this!"

"You bastards ain't scary," Piermont snarled, returning to his natural form, "All I see is a couple of fanboys who think they're more important than they really are. You two are puny! Insignificant! Ain't worth the shit on anyone's boots! Do you _really_ think that Harbinger or anyone of those damn machines really cares about you?" he charged towards them, opening his great maw, "Of course they don't! You are expendable! Tools! A means to an end!"

"And you are nothing more than a pathetic speck of dust in the infinite universe, a creature who's death will have no effect on anyone! You are a pitiful excuse for a creature, struggling to hold onto yourself following the death of your beloved rider..." Thanatos continued, and with a hellish roar of fury, Piermont charged towards him, oblivious as both of the Reaper generals landed several blows against him.

Eventually, Piermont's energy bottomed out, and when the dragon, exhausted, backed away to catch his breath, Ares and Thanatos dealt several knockout blows to the beast with their elemental powers. The two generals rolling away to recover their own energy, they were attacked from behind by Tiberius and Athena, rejoining the fight once again. Athena, once more, was knocked aside, and Tiberius tackled Thanatos to the ground, snapping as hit head.

"Get off of me, treacherous beast!" the general howled, throwing punches at the raptor and holding him back with an arm. Tiberius then snapped his jaws around Thanatos' arm, surprised when all he tasted was cold steel, denting beneath the raptor's crushing pressure, but not breaking. Pieces of the steel ripped into the roof of his mouth and gums, drawing blood. Thanatos only smirked, punching Tiberius in the snout and throwing the raptor off of him, hissing towards Ares, "We should be leaving these pests to the Infected, we're beyond this!"

"We are under orders, Thanatos," Ares replied, "We must capture them! We cannot leave without our prize!"

"Then we should capture the traitors, they are much more important to Harbinger than the rest of these genetic abnormalities!"

Thanatos raced over to the dazed Athena, grabbing her by the tail and dragging the protesting raptor towards Ares, awaiting the landing of their dropship.

"Sister!" Tiberius grunted, picking himself up, blood running down his face from a deep cut across his eye, blinding one of his eyes.

Once the dropship had arrived, Thanatos smashed the raptor's head against the side of the machine, throwing her into its depths and hopping into it himself. Ares jumped in beside him, and the ship began to rise in the air.

"NO!" Tiberius roared, racing towards the ship and leaping off of a boulder, grabbing onto the floor of the machine through the open door and forcing himself inside. Instantly, he was blindsided by Ares, beating him relentlessly while Thanatos dragged off the semi-conscious Athena deeper into the ship.

"You will not defeat us!" Ares said harshly, and he issued a knockout blow to the raptor with the pommel of his sword.


	27. Chapter XXVI: Burning Earth

_**Chapter XXVI**_ **:**

 **-''Burning Earth''-**

 **-Above the Gothics-**

 **- _17 May 2015_ -**

 **- _1802 Hours_ -**

The screams of a woman being mangled alive by one of _Perditus_ resonated within Tiberius' mind, and his eyes shot open with a start. He growled lowly, standing up uneasily and observing his surroundings. He was trapped in a tiny cell, glowing, red-hot bars standing between him and the rest of the sterile white room beyond. The architecture of the chamber beyond his cell was strange, very angular, and almost blindingly white in color. The bars gave off a quiet but maddening hum, and one thought came to mind, startling him into full alert... _SISTER!_

With a high-pitched, throaty call, he cried out for his sister, waiting for a response, hoping he received one. For several minutes he waited, but with no reply. "Dear sister..." he muttered mournfully, collapsing to the ground, "Forgive me...I have failed you..."

"A remarkable specimen we have here," an indoctrinated scientist began, patrolling back and forth in front of Ares and Thanatos. Athena was laying on a table, muzzled and strapped down, sedated, "I've never seen anything quite like it..."

"What is so impressive, Doctor?" Ares asked.

"Even connected to the machines, they are somehow resisting Harbinger's will...and the genes of both this one and her brother...they are absolutely perfect, flawless, I have never seen anything quite like it before."

"What do you mean 'perfect'?"

"I mean that their DNA has been so intricately pieced together that there are no flaws in its structure and no genetic abnormalities. We've also noticed that the raptors have been pre-programmed with a familial instinct. They are capable of love and affection, capable of attachment, and are driven on the needs of most living organisms."

"Why would that foolish girl do such a thing?" Thanatos growled.

"Perhaps she was intending to reverse the course of nature, to restore an extinct species, to rebuild their numbers. With flawless DNA such as this, there is no chance of negative effects or genetic abnormalities commonly brought about by inbreeding. This reminds me of another revelation we had...she is fertile."

"What?" Ares hissed.

"She is capable of ovulation, although at this time, she is far too young to do so. There's a likely chance, too, that her brother is _also_ fertile, although we have yet to test him. Don't be too dissuaded, however, there could be other reasons why Aphrodite would create these creatures so differently. Alternatively, she could have purposely given them perfect DNA to simplify the cloning process, thus making it easier to rebuild her private army and replace destroyed or damaged units."

"Why make them fertile then? And why create only two specifically...one male, one female? She could have easily assigned their sexes during the eggs' creation."

"Perhaps that is a side effect of their genetic perfection. We did have to damage several genetic structures in _Perditus_ to render them sterile and incompetent."

"I'll report this information to Harbinger at once," Thanatos said.

"I will talk to the male, see if he knows anything," Ares replied.

"You are a peculiar one, aren't you?"

Instantly, Tiberius was on alert, standing at the bars and growling at Ares, standing on the other side, arms crossed upon his chest, "Aphrodite built you with a purpose, something far greater than what she was supposed to do...it's almost blasphemous. Tell me, why would that creature create you differently than the rest of _Perditus_? Did she produce you out of fear to be her guard? Did she build you with the intent to reverse your species extinction?"

"If you harmed her...!"

"Oh, don't worry, your sister is quite fine," Ares interrupted, "We have done some...examinations...and you both are quite unique, unlike the rest of your kind. This is what puzzles us, why would Aphrodite make you differently? Why would she waste the time and energy to make you more special than the rest?"

"I will destroy you!" Tiberius snarled, "I will rip you limb for limb if you hurt her!"

"Ares..." Thanatos began, appearing in the room, "We have new orders from Harbinger."

"What may they be?" Ares replied, facing his companion.

"We are to place both of them in the same confinement, then observe for signs of intent for copulation."

"So be it..." and Ares flagged down an Indoctrinated with a wave of the hand, "See to it that our friend here is reunited with his sister at once."

Soon after, Tiberius stiffened as he watched Athena being dragged down the hall by several Indoctrinated. When one of them opened the cell to deposit in there with him, he made a move to attack, only to be hit with a stun rod and sent to the ground. The female was tossed into the cell with his, the door then slammed shut behind her, and the guards walked away.

"Sister!" Tiberius exclaimed, trembling as he stood, stumbling towards Athena and collapsing beside her, nuzzling her affectionately, "Are you all right? Did they hurt you?"

"Dear Brother...I am fine...are you?"

"Yes..." he replied, tangling his head with hers and nuzzling her neck, "I am."

Tiberius remained tangled with his sister in a corner of the cell they were trapped in, eyeing the Indoctrinated guards as they walked past. Occasionally, an Infected would berserk, attacking everything around it shortly before being put down by the guards, the body dragged away. From somewhere out in the ship beyond, they could hear what screams and moans of the tortured and imprisoned. Directly across from them, they could spy a blue dragon, only about seven or eight feet tall, sitting cross-legged, stiff, and erect in the center of its cell, eyes closed, meditating. It had thin, feather-like, black frills down the back of its head and neck, light yellow, almost tan belly scales, long, thin, almost demonic, curved back horns to either side of its head, as black as coal. Its body was curvaceous, almost feminine, and when it was startled out of its trance, its slanted eyes were a deep, icy blue, accented by a few, thin, webbing stripes of olive-green. At its waist, it wore a crude, leather sheathe, holding a short, deep, olive green-bladed flamberge, with a spiraling, alternating, black and orange hilt, approximately two to three feet long. Its icy-colored wings were folded gently across its back, and the creature remained still and unmoving. Several times, Tiberius was left wondering if it was alive, although he could smell the creature, confirming that it _was_ indeed alive. Judging by the scent, he could also assume with almost perfect certainty that the dragon was female, and she may be either going into or coming out of heat, although she maintained an almost human-like grace and composure, making her eerie to the raptor. She surely didn't seem dangerous, and even if she was, they were in separate cells, meaning that they would probably never have to interact with one another.

However, there still seemed to be something off, yet very vaguely familiar about her, this worried him deeply. Could she have been perhaps one of _Perditus_ ' failed experiments? She didn't seem to be a dinosaur of any kind, she was clearly a dragon, and her eyes radiated a keen, almost human level sense of intelligence and sapience that was absent in the twisted, feral experiments the triceratops scientist had done upon them...but why did the dragon seem so familiar? The only dragons Tiberius knew lived in Alpha Company, and she _definitely_ wasn't one of them. Near him, his sleeping sister cried for their mother, the dolphin, as she tossed and turned in her dreaming state, occasionally choking out tears. Once more, Tiberius nuzzled her affectionately, laying beside her and pressing his back against hers, trying to comfort her. Glancing over at the dragon's cell, he could see the beast glaring at them with a sly grin, further unsettling the raptor, although he didn't show it...she didn't _seem_ hostile, but the sheer fact that he couldn't read her only made matters worse for him. With an annoyed snort, Tiberius looked away from her, resting his head upon his sister's.

"You're not one of them, are you?" the dragon, definitely female, asked.

Tiberius said nothing, refusing to give her any attention whatsoever.

Obviously unsatisfied with these subtle hints, or not heeding them, she continued, "That girl...she your mate?"

The raptor growled lowly towards her, "My sister."

The dragon only nodded weakly in response, expression still stern and borderline arrogant, "Why did they lock you in here?" she smirked, "Wasn't mean enough for them?"

Tiberius hissed at her, "I am not one of these vile creatures! Neither of us are1, and we never were."

"Well, unless the Dwarven history tomes back in the _Nîmorrir Hills_ were incorrect, species like yours went extinct long ago...until these bastard machines brought them back."

"I would assume a species of dragon such as yours would have gone extinct as well, I've never seen any creatures like you around."

The dragon girl hissed, apparently bipedal, leaping onto her feet and charging towards her jail's bars, "Your kind wiped out my family! I won't stop until I disembowel every last one of you!"

"Good luck doing anything from the other side of that cell," Tiberius snorted, "Nevertheless, I am not those creatures...neither is my sister. We come from a different place, we're fighting a war against these abominations."

"If what you say is true...then why, may I ask, would you turn against your own broodmates?"

"We were manufactured...differently. Our creator desired protection by creating a superior batch of embryos to the ones she was producing for the machines. She feared them, and that fear led to our creation."

Silence fell between them for several moments before she asked in a snarky tone, "So what's your name then? Or do you even _have_ one?"

"Our mother calls me Tiberius...and my sister she calls Athena."

"Well...name's Ember, nice to meetcha."

"What kind of dragon are you? I've never seen one likes yours before."

"We're Axalian Dragons, little known race from Alagaësia, we choose to remain hidden due to the...tainted reputation of draconic species there."

"There are more of you?"

"Not much...we're a small, shrinking species, but we've still got quite the big community, not even the dwarves down below or the elves in the forest know of our presence...and we like to keep it that way."

"So why would they find it necessary to capture you? You don't seem to be a very technologically advanced species."

But she had fallen silent, returning into her meditative state. Saying nothing, Tiberius returned his attention to his sister, curling around her and drifting to sleep.

Mechanical screams, followed by violent, earthquake-like rumbling startled both the raptors from their slumber, and they instantly went into full alert, gathering their bearings. The lights flickered out, trapping them in complete darkness. Red, emergency lights flashed throughout the ship's interior, and the raptors could hear exclamations of surprise and irritation echoing down the corridors...they could also tell by the nonexistent drone of the engine that the craft was non longer active. Explosions echoed down the halls as well, and Tiberius, noticing that their cell was open, rushed out into the world beyond, a frightened Athena at his side. The control panel beside his plasma bars appeared to have been fried, slashed to pieces, and he noticed that all the other cells in the block were open, although his and the dragon girl's cells were the only ones that appeared to have been opened before the power went out.

The raptor looked around, trying to figure out what was going on, but all he saw was a group of slain infected, one of them, appearing to have been stabbed in the chest, was laying on the ground in a pool of black, oily blood, with bright red stains around its maw. There was also bloody handprints along the ground, matching the shape of the dragon girl's five-fingered paws, and drops of what could be assumed to be her blood along the floor. Tiberius led Athena in pursuit of the girl, finding that the central hub beyond their hall was covered in bright, white-blue flames. Sparks rained down from exposed wiring in the ceiling, and charred corpse lay strewn about. Proceeding further into the ship, they could hear a siren or alarm system going off, and the amount of carnage increased as they pressed further and further on, following the girl's footsteps.

Taking down any resistance they encountered, they finally reached what could be assumed to be the bridge, partially flooded, only to find it vacant, its occupants slain in brutal fashion via a sword...but Ember was nowhere to be found. Instead, a giant hole had been blown into the side of the ship, revealing that it had apparently crashed landed into a lake, although they could not tell where. Rushing outside into a burning glen, Tiberius and Athena looked around, heart sinking at the fact that they could not see the dragon anywhere, if she had been killed, it hadn't been here, and if she had orchestrated an escape, she was long gone. If the sound of furious Infected and Indoctrinated gathering around in the ship behind them, and eerie shadows of the Reaper creatures dancing around in the light of the flames, the two raptors hurried off into the encircling forest, soon finding themselves in the snowy reaches of Skyrim, the northern lands of Tamriel. Once they had put a fair bit of distance between them and the crashed ship, Tiberius led them through the blizzard and into a dark, but warm, cave, sending out a telepathic cry for help to Alpha Company, requesting rescue. Behind them, the sky was alight with the glow of the flames burning in the foothills beyond the mountains between them and the crashed Reaper flagship.


	28. Chapter XXVII: Broken Bird

_**Chapter XXVII**_ **:**

 **-''Broken Bird''-**

 **-Helena, Montana-**

 **- _24 May 2015_ -**

 **- _1100 Hours_ -**

Ruby leaned against the pedestal upon which Lucy sat, hair greasy and stringy, eyes sunken in and layered with bags, clothes in disarray. Her gaze was absent, and she remained still and unmoving, arms and legs splayed out before her, unshaven. She wore a dingy, dirty hospital gown, and paid no one any attention.

 _Are you still alive?_ the disembodied voice asked the human-form dolphin.

Ruby's expression never changed, and she didn't move, all she replied with was a simple, "Yes...but I might as well not be."

 _C'mon! Keep your chin up! Things could be much worse._

"You've never lost someone you loved dearly."

 _You don't know that. I had a very good friend, he was actually my creator...he died a long time ago...and nobody except for you and him could hear me._

Ruby didn't respond.

 _Jeez, you're so melancholic...you need to perk up a little. You could be in a much worse scenario, count your blessings. Just need to cheer up and move on, things will get better. It'll hurt for awhile, but things will improve._

"He's been gone for almost a year...I still feel his absence."

 _Well...let's talk about it...who was he? What was he like?_

The dolphin managed a slight, sad smile, "He was my world...he was everything...he gave my life purpose, he was the reason I decided to survive during some very dark times...and he was my mate...I loved him."

 _Mate?_ Lucy asked, puzzled, _What's that?_

"My lover...someone who I wanted to start a family with."

 _Oh...THAT kind of friend...He told me about stuff like that. How he lost someone very important to him, someone he wanted to start a family with._

"He also knew how to give me the most wonderful feelings you could possibly imagine...both physical and emotional."

 _Interesting._

"You wouldn't understand unless you experienced that kind of pleasure."

 _He was very important to me, too. So I understand._

Ruby chuckled darkly, "He mated with you? Interested to hear how that worked...I don't really see any holes on you anywhere."

 _What do you mean?_

"You are really that naïve?"

 _Hey! I'm_ not _na_ ï _ve, I'm just youthful! Just...innocent, that's all.._ and she giggled lightly, evidencing her youth, akin to that of a young child.

"Maybe one day I can figure out how to transfer the pleasure of what we did to you...would be very interesting to see your reaction to that."

 _Is that why you're so lonely? You miss him?_

"Among other things...I miss his touch. I miss the way he smiled at me...the way he coddled me and told me he loved me...and then...just like that...he was gone. Taken away from me..."

 _Now, I_ am _aware of how that feels...maybe not the touching part, because he couldn't really touch me. But I did love his presence...he left me feeling fulfilled, and he always showed me attention, even if he didn't realize it. Then one day, I heard him scream, I felt his life bleed from his presence...and in the blink of an eye, he was gone._

"What happened?"

 _I'm not really sure...ever since he left, I've been wracking my brain trying to find out what happened...but I haven't really had much luck._ Something _did though, and not just to him...but there were some really weird changes that happened to me, too. I felt more...whole...after he left than I did before._ she sighed, _I miss him sometimes...but I think that I will see him again. Who knows when, but I'm sure I will someday. He said so himself! And he was_ always _right, mm hmm! I admit that I get a little lonely sometimes...since he was the only one who could talk to me...and I do wonder what life would be like if he were still around. I_ do _know that I wouldn't be talking to you right now, since I felt like a ghost, something that was there, but also wasn't...when he was still alive. After he left, then all of a sudden I was real, I was there in full, I was complete, I can't explain it._

"How have you been entertaining yourself without him?"

 _I dunno...mostly just thinking about things...learning, observing. Life is pretty boring in this silly statue, but...it could be worse...I could be dead, after all..._ then, after several moments, _So what was your friend's name?_

"Alex..." Ruby replied, frowning once again, "And I was his little gemstone...that's what he called me."

Lucy giggled once again, escalating Ruby's unhappiness, _Sorry...sorry...it's just kinda silly that's all. I don't mean to offend you. It's silly, but it's a cute kinda silly. He really did love you it sounds like._

"More than I could ever explain...and the feeling was mutual."

 _Did you have a cute little nickname for him?_

Ruby shook her head, "Alex was never one for nicknames, he didn't like them, he didn't like to show weakness."

 _Aww, one of those tough guys, huh? Jeesh...no fun, even_ he _would drop down his rough and tough guard every once in awhile to make me giggle...he liked jokes, and he liked to keep me happy a lot. Sometimes your best friends are taken away from you...he always told me that God likes to challenge people. Sometimes the best people are removed from your life once they've fulfilled their purpose, opening new roads to new experiences. Of course...I kinda wish it was literal here...I can't move inside this stupid statue, and unless I can find away to detach myself from it...I'm sorta trapped here. I guess it could be worse, sometimes it's a little chilly in the winter and a little hot in the summer...but it could be worse. Things could_ always _be worse, just keep telling yourself that. Even when things are down, keep your chin up, because things will always get worse before they get better._

"Yeah...well unfortunately, I have good reason to believe that God is punishing me."

 _Why?_

"For things I did many, many, _many_ years ago. I've done a lot of bad things in my life...I endangered friends and families...I seduced a little baby to some...very grown up activities...I wonder if that's why my life is so terrible."

 _Well, everything is a learning lesson. Learn from your mistakes so that you won't make them again._

"I suppose..."

Lucy sighed, _Well, I guess we need to teach you how to get over the past...to be a better person and look forward in life instead of always dwelling in the past._

"I prefer the past more than the present..." Ruby frowned, "Alex was still alive...my life was still somewhat easier..."

 _But the past is only gonna make you hurt more. You need to move on. If you get stuck in the past, then you risk only hurting yourself more and more. It's hard, but it must be done, and that's why I'm gonna teach you how to shake away all of that and look forward to another beautiful day! You know, sometimes you just have to puff out your chest, stand tall against the world, and scream at the top of your lungs, 'I refuse to let life keep me down!' The more direct you face the rough patches, the sooner you'll get through them._

"I can't do that though..."

 _Yes you can, you just don't know how to._ That's _why I'm gonna show you! I'm not gonna lie, it might be a little hard at first, especially since it'll sting, and it'll hurt, but once we're done, you'll be so glad that you went through it, that you finally got that great big, strangling pressure off your chest, and you won't be able to keep a silly grin off your face, knowing that you conquered everything that tried to keep you down. Trust me on that, I went through some similar rough times as you...but after a lot of meditating and self-searching, I learned to overcome it all. You're lucky you gotta friend like me, because I'm not gonna make you learn it by yourself like I had to, I'm gonna show you the trick. It's really not that hard once you figure it out, it's just about ramming into everything in your path and refusing to be fazed by little things. Wounds heal with time, even major ones._

"Yeah...unless they kill you first."

 _Ah, ah, ahhh! We're not gonna have any of that Negative Nelly stuff here! No, siree!_

"Listen...I _really_ don't help."

 _Nonsense! You'll thank me in the end._

"Please...I really don't..."

Lucy scoffed, _Fine, I'll let you sit on it for a little bit...but I promise you, you_ will _want to do this, you'll be glad you did. As that old saying goes, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade! Anyway, I'm getting sleepy, so I'm going to take a little nap, wake me up when you make up your mind, okay? Just don't take too long!_ and the unseen presence fell silent, leaving Ruby alone and reminding her of just how lonely, empty, and abandoned she felt. For a brief moment, she considered waking Lucy up once again to request continued companionship, but she decided against it, instead leaning back against the pedestal and staring off into the distance, mind numb, but disturbed.

Eventually, the hospital's patients were shepherded back in the building for lunch and their afternoon medications, Ruby included. She dragged her feet throughout the empty halls of the old building, mind empty and blank, feeling and thinking nothing. She briefly touched upon the idea of accepting Lucy's offer, of accepting the help to sort through her inner demons...but the thought of this, the thought of diving face first into the very things causing her immense, unbearable pain horrified the dolphin, and she quickly turned her mind away. Finally reaching the cafeteria, the doctors escorting her parted ways, heading back to grab a few more patients from the recess yard. Distancing herself from staring eyes and the crazed locale, like she did every day, she quickly walked towards the line, grabbing a tray and waiting patiently for her turn. The plate loaded with food, she finally walked back into the cafeteria from the kitchen, scanning for an empty table she could sit at and briefly considering sneaking to eat outside...then a familiar voice reached her ears.

"Come on, sir..." a doctor began, "Sit down already, please..."

"But I don't wanna sit here..." the very familiar, male voice responded, "I want to eat outside..."

Instantly, Ruby turned to face the source of the voice, jaw dropping at what she saw. Although she couldn't see the doctor, she could very easily make out a man sitting at a table by himself, mumbling to himself. The long, unkempt, greasy, and stringy hair over his cold blue eyes did little to mask the man's identity, and the dolphin muttered beneath her breath, unable to believe her eyes, " _Alex..._ "

Sure enough, the Commander was sitting by himself at the table, playing with his food, zipping the overflowing spoon around, making the sounds of an airplane. Ruby was instantly there, taking a seat beside him, but the man paid her no heed at first.

"A...Alex?" she began, aghast.

He looked up from his lunch, anxiously looking around until his eyes fell upon her, following which he began to tremble in place, saying, "I...I...I'm sorry...I didn't mean to alarm you."

"Alex...it's me! Ruby!"

"Alex? Ruby?" he cocked his head to the side, "Who's that?"

"Don't you remember me?"

He stared at her for a few moments before shrugging, "Oh wait...were you the nurse that gave me that pretty flower yesterday?"

"He's amnesiac...he doesn't remember anything, not even his own name," a voice spoke from behind her, and Ruby turned to thank the unseen apparition, finding nobody there.

Suddenly worried, she turned to face her mate again, asking, "Do you remember my name?"

He thought about it for a few moments before shaking his head, "Nuh uh..."

"What's your name?"

Once more, he looked away, trying to think, before finally nodding and replying, "My name is Boy."

"Boy?"

He nodded, "Yes."

"Can I call you Alex?"

"Alex?" he thought for another few moments, then finally nodded eagerly in response, "Yes, my name is Alex! You are...?"

"My name is Ruby..." she replied with a smile, unable to contain her joy, "I'm so glad to see you..." and it took every muscle in her body to keep from leaping into his arms and hugging him tightly, covering his spaghetti sauce-covered face and lips in kisses.

"You are pretty..." he smiled, "I feel like...I know you from somewhere...but I don't...have we met?"

The dolphin blushed at the memory of their history, before nodding slowly, "I think we have..." and she quickly came up with a story, managing, "We went to school together, I had this mad crush on you..."

"Oh yeah!" he exclaimed, nodding vigorously, "And I remember that I had a huge crush on you..."

"We went to prom together," Ruby continued, desperately attempting to sell their past to him, "And we found ourselves hiding in the bathroom kissing each other."

"Yeah! I remember, we were scared that we would get caught...what happened between us? I thought we'd still be a couple by now."

"Well...things happen..." the dolphin replied, "I think after graduation we both got busy with life stuff and...yeah."

"Well, I don't wanna make that same mistake again," he replied firmly, "You are too beautiful to pass up...will you be my girlfriend?"

The dolphin blushed heavily, the first, aching pains of sexual excitement and heat flaring up through her thighs, up towards her belly and chest, "Yes...I will...but under one condition."

"What?"

"You kiss me."

"But people will see us..." and he shrank in his seat.

"Well...how about you and me go somewhere quiet and do it then?"

He thought about this before nodding, grinning mischievously, "Let's go!"

They finished eating, returning their trays before Ruby grabbed Alex's hand, leading him into an empty hall adjacent to the cafeteria and pulling him into a corner. He fell into her arms, blushing and looking away before, wrapping her arms around his neck, she said, "Ready?"

He, at first, nervously and lightly pecked her on the lips, embarrassed.

"No..." she replied firmly, smiling and brushing his cheek with a finger, "Like this..." and she pulled him close to her, kissing him firmly on the lips, dabbing her tongue against his closed mouth, requesting entry. He accepted, and they explored each other's mouths, they held each other tighter, relishing in the contact, first awkward at first, before they both fell into the routine, like riding a bike again after a long hiatus. After several minutes, they broke the kiss, hugging each other tightly, both catching their breath, "I love you, Alex..."

His response to her was heavy and meaningful, proving that a little piece of his personality was returning to his amnesiac mind, "I love you, too, Ruby..." he said this with such sincerity, that at first the dolphin thought that he had truly returned to his senses, and upon looking into his eyes, she could see a sense of familiarity in them returning briefly before it faded away again, and he adopted another sheepish expression, "Wow... _THAT_ was fun!"

Ruby smiled mischievously, still stroking his cheek, "Lover...there is a lot more where that came from..."

"What do you mean?"

She winked, "If we can get some more privacy...I'll show you..."

"What are you doing?" a doctor asked irritatingly, suddenly appearing from the cafeteria.

"Oh...uh..." and both Alex and Ruby exchanged horrified expressions, "Nothing..." the dolphin replied, "We were just...uh...talking..."

"Right..." the doctor replied, "Get back in there."

"Yes, sir," Alex replied with a firm nod, hurrying back inside the cafeteria, Ruby behind him.

The duo spent the rest of lunch conversing with one another, with Alex constantly returning to what they had just done. Although the dolphin wanted to convince the Commander to run away with her into another room where they could consummate their relationship again at last, wanting strongly to appease the tension in her loins...she decided it was best to take things slow. He didn't remember her, still lost in the grasps of amnesia, she had a lot of questions for him as well, but she thought it to be safer if she progressed carefully. She doubted that he remembered much of what happened anyway, if anything, given his ease in buying her poorly fabricated lie. She wanted to build up their relationship to something as grand as it was before, hoping that the act of sex would finally bring him back to his senses. Another fear of hers was that, not remembering her and thus leaving them as complete strangers, technically speaking, if she came onto him too strongly, it would chase him away or frighten him, something she did _not_ want to risk. Eventually, with enough smooth talking and enough teasing, she could seduce him into more intimate acts. As long as their relationship continued, the idea was bound to overtake him eventually. When he was ready, he would let her know, of this she was certain.

The _real_ Alex was down there somewhere...it was just a matter of bringing it to light. After lunch, they were separated when Ruby's doctor dropped by to medicate her. Unlike what she had been doing lately, she didn't resist it, her mind and emotions at peace now that she knew Alex was safe and sound...and that she would definitely see him again. After lunch was exercise period and their daily shower, Ruby didn't see him in either period, not really expecting to either, since male and female patients were kept in separate wings, only being brought together for lunch and, very occasionally, recess. While she was stripped down and bathed by her caretakers, she found herself longing to see him again, even imagining that it was Alex rubbing her down, finding that this aroused her, which thankfully the doctors didn't notice. Once this was done and she was dressed, she was allowed back outside for another stint of recess, during which Ruby happily jogged to the statue indwelt by Lucy, instantly remarking, _Well...why are you so happy?_

"You won't believe it, Lucy!" Ruby exclaimed cheerfully, "He's alive!"

 _Who is?  
_

"Alex! My Alex...he's alive! He's safe! And best of all... _he's here with me_!"

 _Really?_

"Yes! I'm so excited I just..." and she sat down, unable to contain her excitement, trembling in joy.

 _I'm so glad to hear that, Ruby! See? I told you things weren't nearly as bad as they seem!_

"I just...I can't believe he's back...it's like...it's like a dream come true. He's amnesiac, he doesn't remember me but..." she shook her head, "I think I can help him remember..." and the human-form dolphin blushed, "During lunch...I pulled him aside for a few minutes and we...had a little makeout session."

 _Aww! How cute!_

"I know! He was so awkward, too, I just...I loved it. I really hope he comes back, that he remembers me and remembers what happened...I have a lot of questions to ask him, and besides..." she grinned sheepishly, "It's been far too long since we've mated...I want to experience that again."

 _What is it like?_

"What?"

 _Mating?_

"One of the greatest feelings in the world," Ruby chuckled, "I can't really explain it...but I love it."

 _Interesting..._

"Are you able to kinda get into a spot where you can feel what I feel? Like pain, pleasure, y'know...stuff like that?"

 _Maybe, I don't know how to...but I could probably learn, if it's possible...why?_

"Just asking..." and an idea suddenly came to mind, "Actually...let me try something..." she closed her eyes, expanding her mind throughout the world, like Alex had taught her. She singled out the asylum's lot from her worldwide view. Through this, with her eyes closed, the entire yard appeared like a drawing on a chalkboard, outlined against a black voice. Small, pulsating red and blue orbs dotted the yard...heartbeats of the patients...and she sorted through these until she stumbled upon Lucy's unique presence, "Just sit tight," the human-form dolphin replied, "I wanna try something..."

 _Okay...it's not going to hurt will it?_

"No...but I wanna show you what mating pleasure feels like."

 _Oh...please don't hurt me..._

"I promise, it won't hurt," and she slowly slipped her fingers down her pants, navigating the tangled web of her pubic hair until she finally reached the hot, rubbery, moistness of her vaginal lips. She scouted out her clitoris, rubbing it gently at first. She shuddered at the contact, finding that it didn't take long before she reached the point of orgasm, and when she finally reached her climax, she routed the pleasure through Lucy's presence, causing the invisible spirit to squeak in surprise and alarm. Relaxing as the pleasure subsided, Ruby opened her eyes, wiping her sticky fingers on her mat of dark red, almost brown pubic hair and sitting back with a sigh of relief.

After several moments of silence, Lucy finally returned, breathing unsteadily, _What...what was that!?_

"Mating pleasure..." the dolphin chuckled, "It'd be much more intense if I was with Alex but...that's what I keep talking about."

 _That was...how did you do that? It felt...really, really weird, it kinda hurt...why do you like that?_ How _can you like that?_

"It feels good..."

 _It hurts...please don't do that again..._

Ruby scoffed, "You're no fun."

 _So...you're happy then?_

"More than I can ever explain," the human-form dolphin replied, wearing a wide smile, "My Alex...he's finally back...and _nothing_ is going to come between us again."

Lucy sighed, almost sounding sad, _Guess you won't be needing me here then?_

"Of course I will! You're still my friend, and I'm still gonna make sure you get attention, too! I won't forget about you!"

 _I hope not...you're the only person I can really talk to. You're the only one who can hear me...and I can't really go anywhere to make my presence known in here. Don't mistake my worry for unhappiness though, I'm glad your friend is safe, and I'm glad you two are together again...just don't forget about little old me, okay?_

"I won't, Lucy...I promise."

The next day, the male and female patients were brought together for the morning recess, reuniting Alex with Ruby once again. Although in his presence, Ruby had forgotten about Lucy, she spent most of the time they had together further elaborating on their commitment and testing the waters to see just how far he was willing to take their relationship. Although he admitted to dreaming about the dolphin, he still didn't seem willing or ready to take their relationship any further, and they spent all the time they had together sitting in the shade of a tree at one corner of the yard, cuddling together as they watched the other patients at play. For the first time in a long time, Ruby felt truly happy, knowing that nothing would get between her and Alex, and, at least for the time being, they were safe here, away from danger. She decided that, as long as Alex was here with her, she was perfectly fine staying in this place.

Then...a thought came to her mind. Trapped in her human form by the medications she was given every day by her unsuspecting doctors, it was highly likely that, if they really wanted to, they could finally get married. The idea of being wedded to Alex instilled Ruby with something that she couldn't explain, a love and happiness deeper than she ever thought was possible. She had long battled with the knowledge that, due to their difference in species, they could never _truly_ be together, but now, with him remembering nothing of their past and her stuck in this form...marriage was very possible. She still doubted that they could bare children together, since her genetic makeup would still identify as dolphin in nature, but just the idea that they could be united in such a way nearly overwhelmed Ruby with excitement. In her quest to bed the amnesiac Commander, she also decided that she would attempt to convince him to take her as his wife, so that they could finally live as they deserved, with each other, free from danger or hatred. There was a separate wing of the facility designated specifically for married couples as well, meaning that not only could they be together constantly throughout the day, but they would never have to worry about leaving each other's side. The thought was too tantalizing to resist, and Ruby struggled to contain herself. Finally, she managed to wrestle control of her excitement, and for now, they were both perfectly satisfied as they were, tangled together beneath the shade of an old oak tree, watching the other patients at play, her head against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat while he gently stroked her face and hair with his bionic arm.

She couldn't shake the feeling that, deep down inside his mind, he identified who she was and _knew_ they were a couple. It had only been two days since their reunion, if that, but the way he treated her was akin to a longtime lover. On some realm, on some depth of his subconscious, he _knew_ who she was, and he _knew_ they were a couple. "I love you, Alex..." she said.

"I love you, too, Ruby..." he replied, kissing the top of her head, "I'm so glad I have you...I can't believe I forgot about all of this...I hope you forgive me."

"I do," she giggled, "I'm just glad we're here, together again...even in such a strange place as this."

"Yep..."

"You know..." she began, heart fluttering in her chest, "We keep this up, you might just have to put a ring on me."

"I would love to," he replied with a wide grin, further causing Ruby to shudder with excitement, unable to believe what she was hearing, "If I can get a ring in here, you damn well better expect to wear it," but he said this with light humor.

"Of course," she replied, "Would hope for nothing better...but you know what comes after marriage right?" she teased.

"Ah yes...it will be kinda awkward finding some privacy where we can have some...couple time."

"We could do it now if you want...nobody's looking...and I'm sure we could slip away for a few minutes."

He shook his head, "No...I promised my mom I'd wait for marriage before I'd even _think_ of doing something like that. It's a promise I intend to keep."

This hit Ruby harder than she thought it would, but she shook it away nevertheless, embarrassed for acting so greedy, she finally managed, "Yeah...guess you're right."

"Didn't your mom and dad ever tell you that?"

"I don't know my dad," Ruby replied, and this was truth, "As for my mom...I doubt she really cares _what_ Ido...she'd probably be happy for me either way," _also_ truth, since her mother was little more than an unmutated dolphin under the private ownership of a bestial man, the same one who had convinced Alpha Company to go back in time and thus unintentionally reunited the two ancient lovers once again.

Alex sighed, "I guess...so I assume that your parents will just have to deal with me?" he chuckled.

"We can always elope," she replied, kissing his neck lightly, "Besides, last I checked, your parents have already sold me off as their daughter anyway...I know my mom pretty much has, remember?"

"Yeah...I do," he replied with a slow, steady nod, and he surprised the dolphin by wrapping her fingers within his own, holding her hand and kissing her head once again, hugging her, "You're the best thing to ever happen to me, Ruby."

"You, too..." she replied, unable to contain a smile.

Taking the side door back into the facility, past Lucy's statue, the presence called out, _I wanna meet this Alex guy, he seems nice._

"Oh crap...I'm sorry, Lucy," Ruby replied nervously, "I was gonna do that and I forgot..."

 _It begins..._ Lucy replied, in a teasing manner, _Nah, I'm not worried. You're catching up on missed time, I'm patient, I can wait._

"Sorry..."

 _Don't be, I'm not mad or upset or anything._

"Don't worry, I promise that you'll meet him soon."

 _Looking forward to it, but take your time, like I said, I'm patient._

After lunch, Alex led Ruby through the males' wing of the hospital, taking her to his room. While he was showing her around, the dolphin tried to figure out how to explain what she wanted to ask him. She wanted to find a way to trigger his memories, but at the same time was worried about what would happen if she did. As Alex sat down on his bed, looking out the window, Ruby took a seat in a chair across from him, trying to explain. "Hey..." she began, "I have some questions to ask..."

"Sure," he replied cheerfully, "What's up?"

"Do you remember anything about how you got here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like...how did you get from home to this place?"

"Oh! I..." and his voice abruptly cut off, his eyes widening with confusion, "I...I'm not sure actually...I don't...I don't remember..." he held his head, rubbing his temples, "My head hurts..."

"What do you remember...about me? Because I lied...we didn't go to school together...although we _are_ mates, and we have been for a long time."

"What...?" he shook his head, "I don't..."

She grabbed his remaining hand in her own, gently lowering them to her waist, slipping it inside of her pants and against her genitals.

He winced and pulled back, shaking his head rapidly, "No...no...this isn't right! This isn't...this can't be...it doesn't feel...it's not right."

"It's not the first time," she smiled weakly, "And it won't be the last time either...you and I are more than just friends...we are lovers, we've been lovers for a long time."

"But we haven't actually...we haven't... _had_ sex have we?"

Ruby nodded, "Yes we have...many times."

"No...impossible..." and he pulled back away, "It's not true..."

"It is..." the dolphin replied, slipping off her shirt and exposing her breasts to him, "We love each other deeply. We have for a long, long time..."

"I...I'm sorry..." Alex managed, shaking his head, "I...I'm going to have to ask you to leave...I need...I need some time alone."

"Don't abandon me, Alex...please...not again."

"Just...leave me alone, please? I need...I need to think..."

 _What happened?_ Lucy asked, noticing Ruby's unhappiness almost as soon as she had rounded the corner, in sight of the gargoyle.

"I messed up..." the dolphin lamented, "I messed up big time."

 _What did you do?_

"I began to pry, trying to awaken his memories. I knew he could remember me, and I knew that, somewhere deep down inside, he remembers who I really am, and he remembers who _he_ is. I was just trying to help him remember easier, to help those memories reawaken..."

 _I would have taken things a little more carefully...but it's not that bad, right?_

"He wanted to be left alone...I'm afraid I chased him away."

 _If he truly loves you, you didn't chase him away. Let him have his privacy, let him figure things out on his own, and he will come back. Don't worry._

"I hope you're right, Lucy..."

 _Don't worry, Ruby, it will all be A-OK! Do you trust me?_

"Yes, I do..."

 _Then it'll be fine! Trust me! He will come back. If you two love each other as much as you say you do, then he_ will _come back_.

"I suppose..."

 _You'll see, don't worry._

As it turned out, Lucy was right, and Alex _did_ come back.

zRuby was awakened that night by the sound of a light thumping on her bedroom window. At first, she discounted it as a trick of her mind, or perhaps rain dripping onto the sill outside, since it had been raining off and on all day. The second time she heard it though, she finally decided to investigate, climbing out of bed and spreading apart the blinds, peering through the bars on her window. Alex was outside, appearing grave and nervous, anxiously looking around. She opened the window, calling to him in a whisper, "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk..." he called back, "Mind if I get in?"

"Good luck squeezing through the bars," she replied, but she reached through them nevertheless, extending a hand to the young man who, grabbing it, quickly scampered onto sill, actually managing to squeeze through the bars and slip inside of the room.

"Listen, Ruby..." he began, "I'm sorry about what happened earlier..."

"No...I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so forceful..."

"While I would agree, I still need to thank you...after you left...I started to make sense of what I kept seeing in my head...and I began to...remember..."

"Remember what?"

"My past...my history...my name is Alex Vaughn...I'm a soldier, of the Terminator Militia...Commander, the founder of the unit. You...I can't believe it's you Ruby...I didn't recognize you at first but I...no...nevermind...I'm just glad that you're safe."

"I missed you, Alex..."

He hugged her tightly, kissing her mouth and nuzzling her, "I missed you, too, Ruby..."

"Well..." she blushed, "Now that you're here again...and you're back to normal...will you mate with me?"

"Aren't you afraid we'll get caught?"

She shook her head, "I can be quiet. I just...I need your touch. I've been needing it for a long time...and although I'm sorry that I can't do what I would normally do, since I'm not a dolphin anymore...I can still make you a very happy mate, if you will let me."

Within minutes, they were lying in bed together, rocking against each other in the throes of passion. It didn't take long for either one of them to reach their climaxes, and within five minutes of the act, they both writhed and shuddered against each other, moaning softly into each others mouths, kissing each other deeply. Once the act was complete and the last waves of pleasure surged through their bodies, Ruby, laying on top, completely collapsed and surrendered to his embrace, breathing heavily against him, her heart beating powerfully in her bare chest against his. Her body was covered in gooseflesh, and her nipples were hard and erect, poking tautly into his chest. "You don't know...how long I've wanted this..." she sighed happily, overjoyed to be in the presence of her mate once again, "Oh God...it's been far too long."

"Indeed it has," he replied, gently stroking her hair, "I love you, my little gemstone."

She smiled widely, kissing him once again and hugging him tightly, "I love you, too," and curling close to one another, they both finally drifted off into a deep sleep.

Ruby awoke to find her bed empty, she stretched and yawned, quickly throwing on her clothes before walking to the window that Alex had come in through. It was still bolted shut from the previous night, and it only locked from the outside...how did he get out? She could only assume that he had slipped out through the door, but upon checking it, remembering that it locked from the outside, she wondered how he could have gotten out past curfew.

She shrugged this off, still riding on the coattails of pleasure from hers and Alex's intimate session the previous night. After breakfast and the morning pills, the dolphin happily strolled outside, telling Lucy about the wonderful experience she had the previous night. Following this report, she walked around the courtyard, looking for any sign of Alex, but finding that the male patients hadn't been let out yet. It was lunch time before she finally saw her lover again, and while she sat at a table, waiting for him, she was startled by a light tap on her shoulder. She turned to find Alex standing behind her, wearing a wide grin and scooting in beside her.

"Thanks again for last night..." he chuckled, "I forgot how wonderful it was...I'm glad you brought me back to my senses."

"No," the dolphin replied with a smile, "Thank _you_...you don't know how long I've wanted to feel your tender touch again...I'm so glad you're back in my life."

"You and me both, Ruby...I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Before I forget...there's something else I wanted to talk to you about as well..." he suddenly said.

"Really?" she replied, cocking her head to the side, curious, "What is it?"

"I've got a little surprise for you..." he grinned, and after several minutes of silence, leaving Ruby eagerly awaiting the surprise in anticipation, he finally said, "Now...I haven't been able to come down with...well the thing I need yet...but...I figure I'd get your opinion on it nevertheless."

"Opinion on what?"

"How would you feel if you and I...perhaps took our relationship further? I mean...as long as you're in your human form...nothing is stopping us from behind officially recognized as husband and wife."

"You mean..."

"Would you marry me, Ruby?"

She was overwhelmed with excitement, hugging him tightly, shuddering in joy, "I would want nothing more..."

"Well...nothing's official yet...and I'm sure we'll have to go through quite a few hoops before we can actually succeed but..." he winked, "We'll see."

"I hope everything works out..."

"You and me both, sexy...and I'm sorry I didn't do anything like this sooner...but with Sarah it was just..." he shook his head, "I don't like breakups...now...she thinks I'm dead probably, like everybody else...wouldn't be surprised if she moved on..."

"What exactly happened anyway?" Ruby asked, "I mean...how did you end up here?"

"That's the strange thing," he replied, "I remember we were fighting the Reaper. We led it out of town, with the intention of blasting it with the _Ring_ , then I..." he shook his head, "Next thing I know, I'm waking up in a hospital and a bunch of doctors are surrounding me checking up on me and..." he sighed, "It was a hard couple of days that just kinda blended in together...I didn't remember anything, all I knew was pain and this...feverish chill. Eventually, they admitted me to here until I got my memory back, probably because they didn't know who I was for some reason."

"So...now your memory is back," Ruby began sadly, "Are you gonna leave?"

"No," he replied firmly, "I'm not leaving you again. I'll keep up the charade if I have to, but I'm not gonna leave you. Like you said, we're safe here...there's no danger."

"Even while Alpha Company suffers on the outside?"

He chuckled sadly, "They think I'm dead anyway most likely, it's been like a year. I'm sure Piermont's gone...and it's best if...if they just keep thinking like I'm dead..." then he asked, "How did _you_ end up here?"

"Funny story..." Ruby laughed nervously, "Listen...please don't be mad..."

"I won't be..."

"I...I ran into a bad period...an unbearable bout of depression...and I tried to commit suicide."

He winced.

"Please don't be mad!" she said hastily, "It's just...I was lonely...Alpha Company is constantly mistreating me and abusing me...I snapped, I didn't some really stupid stuff that I regret...I tried to commit suicide and I almost succeeded..."

"Ruby..."

"I thought I had no other choice," she interrupted, "They were...they were cruel...all of them, especially Spyro and Piermont. They mocked me, they mistrated me, said I was nothing, that I was worth nothing! What else was I supposed to do? I just...I...I..." and she sniffled, about to cry, burying her head in Alex's chest, "I'm sorry..."

"Ruby..."

"I'm so sorry...please forgive me..."

He gently stroked her back, "I'm here...don't worry."

"Don't leave me..."

"I won't...never again."


	29. Chapter XXVIII: Destitute

_**Chapter XXVIII**_ **:**

 **-''Destitute''-**

 **-New Alexandria, Montana-**

 **-** _ **18 November 2014**_ **-**

 **- _0710 Hours_ -**

Piermont wandered drunkenly down an alley in New Alexandria's southern Business District. A light snow drifted from the dreary gray skies, but the human-form dragon, coated in a week's worth of grime, wearing a five o'clock shadow, his stringy, greasy hair in disarray, eyes bloodshot and layered with bags, clothes sloppy and stained, did not feel the snowflakes landing on his bare skin, nor did he feel the bitter but windless cold. A shredded, brown paper bag hanged loosely from his limp arms, and the homeless beast made his way to the nearest liquor store, needing to replenish his alcohol reserves. The nasty hangover that had plagued him two nights prior had finally lifted, and he decided that it was time for another drink.

The soldiers patrolling the streets did not recognize him as a former member of the long-disbanded Alpha Company, the dragon of the late Alex Vaughn. His homelessness and lack of hygiene had damaged his appearance to the point that he was completely unrecognizable, even in the eyes of his comrades. He could still feel them tethering at the furthest reaches of the mutual mind bank, something he had not only completely ceased attention to, but was starting to fade, wither, and die, like the muscles of a bodybuilder who decides to take a hiatus from his strict routine and give in to his gluttonous urges for fatty foods. Soon, he would be completely cut off from the others of Alpha Company, but he didn't care. It was a chapter of his life that had ended long ago, one that was never coming back, and he had no intention of keeping alive in memory. He could barely contain his sanity as it was, having turned against the cruel fate that all bonded dragons were damned to, avoiding the loss of his sanity after the death of his rider, only he was barely holding on by a thread, and the littlest thing could finally sever the lifeline and send him plunging over the edge into the endless but welcoming abyss.

Faceless people passed him on the streets, ignoring the dirty drifter, so engrossed in their normal day-to-day activities that the loner was part of the scenery. Frankly, he enjoyed the lack of attention, so much that he decided he would strangle the life out of the next person to identify him. Thankfully, nobody could tell who he was through his new, unemployed appearance, and even those that did acknowledge him steered clear of the maddened dragon, literally a walking, ticking time bomb, just waiting for the catalyst to set him off...and the results would surely be explosive. To say he was broken was a gross understatement, he was nothing more than a shell of his former self, there was no retrieving his old personality, it had died with Alex on that fateful day. He didn't even know if any of his former comrades were still alive...and he honestly didn't care. In fact, if he saw another one of his brothers again, he would probably kill the sorry bastard himself. Fate had been cruel to him, but he wasn't going to argue, he wasn't going to complain. No, he would relish in it, relish in the hardship, knowing very well that the more he resisted, the stronger he would become, and once he finally _did_ snap, there would be no stopping the psychopathic beast, and he would have the pleasure of watching everything he knew burn down to the ground around him while he mercilessly slaughtered anyone who looked at him the wrong way.

To further build up his power for the inevitable loss of control, he bottled up his emotions and his fears, letting them simmer and stagnate...more fuel for the fire. To keep things bearable, he spent his waking moments making love to the bottle, or searching for more when he reached the bottom. Following Alex's death and the official disbanding of Alpha Company, Cherub had run off to the young man's old _fiance_ , returning to her mount, offering for Piermont to come with her. He had refused, sneaking out in the middle of darkness and returning to this damned city so that he could spend the rest of his days rotting away, patrolling the streets, scavenging for whatever he could to satiate his vices. When hungry, he burgled convenience stores or restaurants, when thirsty, he stole alcohol, when horny, he sought out prostitutes in the slums of the city. Crime was still lower than that in your average city, but with Alex's parting and Elliot's drastic increase in responsibility, the streets had become meaner. Soldiers and patrols were scattered, random, and disorganized, the scum of humanity had resurfaced in the formerly clean city, resuming their activities and dodging the poorly managed N.A.P.D.

What a time to be alive...Alex's dream had withered away without the man there to tend to it, and now all that's left was a relic of a time that had passed and would never return. Morale was low, Command had all but disappeared from sight, with rumors that Elliot had succumbed to sickness, and gossip that the old boy had possibly even died. The Terminator Militia was still rumored to be in a 'Silver Age', despite the fact that they were nothing more than lame ducks, seeded with corruption and greed. There were even rumors that prominent mob bosses had moved into the dilapidated and wartorn streets of the most neglected neighborhoods, building mighty criminal empires with little to no resistance from the disorganized soldiers and severely understaffed law enforcement. In fact, just the other day, Piermont had overheard a group of people discussing a gang war that had occurred a mere two miles away from him, leaving six dead and at least a dozen more wounded. As for the dragon, he had taken up residence on the top floor of a condemned apartment complex, only accessible through a fire escape three blocks away and rooftop navigation, since the stairwell had been heavily shelled in some long-ago battle, rendering the entire top two floors inaccessible from the street. The walls were busted and missing, the roof leaked terribly, the floors were warped and, in some places, collapsed, and the windows were either broken and boarded, but he had spent the majority of the summer blocking off any _serious_ openings, using discarded tarps and supplies from a construction site across the district to fashion himself a cozy little residence.

With a beat and battered television, a jerry-rigged connection to a nearby apartment's satellite television, high-speed WiFi he had hacked into, electricity he had _also_ jerry-rigged a connection to from some tax agency across the block, some weathered furniture he had taken from a junkyard several blocks away, including a mattress, a mini-fridge that hardly worked, a brand new laptop he had lifted from a rent-to-own store, a fully functional oscillating fan, and a nifty little space heater, he was living the life, or at least, as much of a life as he could really enjoy. The downgrade from his luxurious living conditions in Club Camelot was noticeable and hard to get used to, but over time, he came to enjoy the simplicity in his environment, finding that it did wonders to distance himself from his past, and thus helped him keep a little more control over his sanity, making his suffering a little more bearable in the process. Two streets away, he had an abandoned car garage that he stored several different vehicles he used to get around...and get away from authorities. His mutations enabled him to be a proficient burglar, and he had even dabbled a bit in armed robbery, still possessing the weapons from his days as a somewhat respectable soldier. He was living the life, and he couldn't ask for it any other way.

For now, he briefly stopped his quest for alcohol, and maybe a woman as well, ducking into another alley to urinate against the cracked, broken wall of one of the _many_ abandoned buildings in this part of the slums. Following this, he continued onward, stumbling upon a corrupt Terminator private selling weapons to a group of shady thugs. Like any other day at the range, he picked them off at a distance, executing any wounded as he helped himself to their healthy supply of military-grade weapons, grabbing as many duffle bags of weapons and ammunition as he could carry, while also grabbing the duffle bag of cold, hard cash from the buyer, now a crumpled heap on the ground, in a pool of growing red, leaning up against the concrete support of an overpass beneath a brilliant, sanguine smear, a hole centered between his eyes. He left these weapons at one of the hidden drop points dotting his subtly fortified compound, pocketing a few hundreds and continuing his quest for women and booze.

An hour later, he returned to his apartment, placing his newly replenished stash on the counter, quickly ripping the clothes off his female companion for the night, throwing her onto the mattress, and going to town. His carnal appetite appeased for the moment, he showed her back to the street and made his way back to the apartment, grabbing the stashed weapons and cash on the way back. Yes indeed, this was the life, he had everything he wanted and more, and best of all, there was no one he had to share it with. Even if his sleep was continuously plagued by memories of his comrades, and especially his former rider, this did little to faze him, he was use to it by now, and he would continue living his life until he finally broke, following which he would go to the grave with as many accompanying him as he could, and a burning city left to commemorate him.

His dream this evening, however, was peculiar. Instead of the usual blood, gore, and incessant screaming, he was instead greeted by the sight of that weak and pathetic Ruby bound and tied to an exposed beam of one of the missing walls of his new home. She wasn't alone though, oh no, Spyro and Cynder were there, too, both in a similar manner, two rooms over. In the dream, the dragon approached the horrified dolphin, first begging for mercy, but he had other plans. First, he beat her, he let loose his fury against the dolphin, but with every strike, her pained screams soon devolved into moans of pleasure and ecstasy. She submitted to him, begging her master to punish such a naughty girl like herself, naughty for letting Alex fall to his death. Eventually, once he had his fill, she continued to beg for punishment, and the human-form dragon resorted to fisting her hard, diving his hand deep into her body. She moaned and thrusted against him, asking for more, and he decided to comply. He collapsed to his knees, rimming the beast and satisfying his peculiar kinks, diving his tongue into her vaginal cavity and ravaging the soft, pillowy flesh just inside of her body. Soon, she came, splattering his face with juices, and he smacked her again as a reward for the action.

This wasn't the end of his moment of raunchy action and debauchery. Leaving her temporarily, he made his way to the other room, where Spyro watched in sheer terror, yet slight submission, as Piermont ravaged the spicy Cynder. Following this, the maddened dragon turned to see that Spyro was erect, his red, bulbous penis protruding from his body, damp with lubricant. Of course, Piermont taunted him and mocked him relentlessly for this, forcing Spyro to admit he was gay. The purple dragon complied, and when the forest dragon forcefully grabbed Spyro's erection, the purple dragon moaned and squeaked in pleasure. When Piermont exposed himself, demanding Spyro to suck him, and the purple dragon soon complied, Spyro grew harder, and more fluid dripped from the tip of his erection. As a reward of sorts, Piermont decided to suck him back, and Spyro thrusted against him, moaning and writing in the pleasure of his punishment. In fact, he came soon after that, filling the forest dragon's mouth with the hot, salty taste of his seed, warranting another punishment whereas Piermont forced his own erection even deeper down Spyro's throat, nearly suffocating the purple dragon with his _own_ spilled seed. _Still_ , Piermont wasn't satisfied, and he reached down to the ground, placing a straight piece of steel rebar vertically upon the ground. Spyro responded by lowering himself onto the bar, shuddering as it penetrated his anus, and as he continously lowered himself onto the bar until it disappeared beneath him, drawing yet another erection from the purple dragon, Piermont only sat back in the plastic lawn chair he had picked from the junkyard, grinning widely at the beast's torture.

"Go on," Piermont taunted, "Prove your nothing more than an overgrown child."

Spyro once more tried to protest voice small and nearly effeminate before, shuddering once again, a stream of golden fluid dripped down from his softening erection, gathering in a pool around his outstretched body.

"You are pathetic!" the forest dragon howled maniacally, "You are a baby! Do I need to make you wear a diaper?"

"I'm a big baby..." the purple dragon responded, in tears.

"Big baby wet himself," Piermont continued, "Does big baby want a diaper?"

"Yes he does..." Cynder said behind the human-form dragon, and Piermont turned to face her. The dragoness, in tears, was crossing her outstretched limbs, doing a little dance in place. Soon, she devolved into childlike crying when her _own_ bladder failed her, collecting into a pool at her feet.

"You both are pathetic, infantile, and moronic," Piermont roared, "You both get to sit there and simmer in your spilled fluids, as punishment for your actions. Maybe if you apologize, I'll go easy on you, make you suck on a pacifier and wear diapers so an accident like this doesn't happen again. For now..." he chuckled, "I have a date with the _other_ white meat..." and he left the room, returning to find Ruby gyrating against the air, eyes closed, belly blushed and her genital slit open and dripping.

"Alex..." she moaned, "Oh, Alex...fuck me...fuck me hard..."

This sent him over the edge and with a vicious roar, seeing through a haze of red, Piermont grabbed another twisted piece of rebar off the floor, thrusting it deep into the dolphin's stomach, causing her to gasp in pain, eyes wide, slack-jawed. "Alex is dead!" he hissed, driving the bar even deeper into her body, puncturing her organs, "And it is all you're _FAULT_!"

"I didn't mean to..." she forced, voice weak, but he only put more pressure on his weapon until it punched through her back in a spray of blood that stained the wall behind her.

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" he roared, and howling maniacally, he ripped the bar free from her body, stabbing her repeatedly, ripping her to pieces with the jagged weapon until she was nothing more than a bloody, unrecognizable heap of flesh and bone on the floor. He collapsed to the ground with a pained, insane roar, a series of sickening, gruesome images flashing through his brain...gore, decomposition, maggots feasting upon a fresh corpse, worms slithering around beneath the skin of a dead soldier on the battlefield. These and more continually surged through his brain at an epileptic pace, with the bloodcurdling screams of women and children providing the only music to the imagery. He collapsed to the ground then, heart beating powerfully in his ears, screams devolving into ghastly, mechanical screeches, as if the screaming women had been converted into cyborg monstrosities. The heartbeat intensified, the world was painted red, and he looked around him. Blood was everywhere, smeared on the walls, in puddles on the floor. Corpses of varying states of decomposition and decay littered the environment, he himself was sitting in the gooey remains of a dozen corpses, dumped into a pile in the middle of the floor. He could feel them crawling beneath his skin, maggots, worms, hundreds upon hundreds of unidentifiable insects feasting upon his body, devouring him from the inside out.

He craned his head to the sky, howling in disgust as he was overcome with a series of spastic coughs. He doubled over, vomiting blood, and in the dim light, he could see maggots crawling within. He screamed ever louder, spitting out countless insect and larvae. With a hellish scream, he peeled the skin from his body, clawing at the insects burrowed into his body, ripping them in clumps from his body. He ripped the flesh from his body, now green and bloated like a decayed corpse, ripping the veins and arteries, then the muscles, eventually snapping his brittle bones with a gentle tug and ripping them free. His fingernails fell off, his teeth fell out, he felt an uncanny pressure in his eye sockets, and he howled as his eyes popped out of their sockets, clouded over, writhing and squirming with insects.

He picked up the bar he had used to murder the dolphin, thrusting it deep into his abdomen, stabbing himself and slicing him open, ripping out his stringy, squirming intestines one by one, throwing them across the room...pleading for mercy, pleading for death. Still he was not granted relief, and he stood up, stumbling towards the window of his room and throwing himself through it. The ground, five stories below, grew closer and closer until a sickening splat accompanied a sudden blackness enveloping him, and he awoke in his bed, in a cold sweat. He frantically looked around the dark, freezing room...everything was normal.

Chasing away the nightmare, succumbing to hysterical sobs, Piermont crawled into a corner of the room, curling into a ball and laying on the ground, rocking, "Kill me..." he pleaded, "Kill me...end it all...make the suffering stop...make it go away...I wanna die...kill me...Please, God...have mercy...kill me..."


	30. Chapter XXIX: Tulpa

_**Chapter XXIX**_ **:**

 **-''Tulpa''-**

 **-New Haven Mental Hospital: Helena, Montana-**

 **- _20 May 2015_ -**

 **- _1002 Hours_ -**

The day finally arrived where Alex proposed to Ruby. The human-form dolphin herself was so excited that the first thing to come to mind, after a brief expression of her love towards the Commander, was to take him outside to finally meet Lucy, something she had been meaning to do but kept forgetting. Upon rushing outside, the Commander in tow, Ruby instantly called out for the spirit residing within the mossy, stone gargoyle, "Lucy! I brought him! Guess what? He proposed to me! We're going to be married!"

 _That's good to hear!_ Lucy congratulated, _I'm so happy to hear that, Ruby, you deserve to be happy with someone you love!_

"Alex, meet Lucy, Lucy this is Alex."

Silence for several moments from both parties, "A...statue?" Alex asked, cocking his head to the side, "I don't understand."

"Can't you hear her?" Ruby asked.

The Commander shook his head, "No...I can't."

"C'mon, Lucy, say something, he should be able to hear you."

 _Ruby...I think we need to talk..._

"Yeah...okay then," Alex interrupted, "So...we're talking to statues?"

"She can speak, didn't you hear her?"

Confused, the Commander shook his head.

 _Um...Ruby...?_

The dolphin sighed unhappily, "Damn it...I guess you're one of those people that can't hear her...I'm sorry Lucy...and I'm sorry Alex for dragging you out here..."

 _Ruby...can we please talk for a second?_

"I'm sorry, Lucy...I probably just made a fool out of myself..."

"Don't worry," Alex chuckled, hugging her, "I still love you anyway, my little gemstone."

She smiled, kissing his cheek lightly, "Love you, too."

 _Wait...Ruby...!_

But they had already returned into the building.

"So..." Ruby began as they wandered aimlessly down the busy halls, "How will we be able to do this? Without a ring, a wedding dress, people to actually attend...a preacher..."

"All you need to worry about sexy," Alex answered, "Is showing up, let me worry about all the little stuff. We may not be able to get a ring immediately, and there probably won't be any fancy clothes to wear...but all that matters is you and I are finally united...I should have done this a long time ago."

"I understand why you didn't," Ruby replied, "After all...humans and animals cannot fall in love...at least under normal circumstances."

"I have enough power and influence that I should have been able to work around that..." he sighed, "I'm sorry."

She hugged him, "Don't be...we're together now, and that's all that matters, right?"

He nodded reluctantly, "You're right."

"Hey..." she grabbed his shoulder, "Don't worry..." and she smiled, "Everything will work out. I have faith in you."

He hugged her once again, and they held each other there, the Commander whispering to her, "I love you."

She nuzzled his neck, "I love you, too..." but she soon added, "I still feel guilty about you and Sarah."

He shrugged, "Odds are she's moved on. The whole has thought I'm dead for the past year...I think we've discussed this before. The world thinks I'm dead and you are crazy...and although that means we probably won't see our friends any time soon...at least it means that we can finally get some peace and quiet, away from the danger and chaos."

That night, Alex managed to sneak out of him room after lights out, deciding to spend the night with the human-form dolphin, and his soon-to-be-wife, much to her delight. By the time she finally managed to drift off, Alex, whom she was sleeping against, using his warm, bare chest as a pillow, was already sound asleep, breathing slowly and deeply. Thankfully, there didn't seem to be any nightmares or visions to torment him that night, and Ruby only hoped that this was the start of something. She knew that Alex had been suffering for many years...admittedly she, too, had been suffering from horrible nightmares, mostly memories of her containment, although, oddly enough, these seemed to all but disappear whenever she was allowed to sleep in the presence of her mate, and it seemed that there was much the same effect on him.

She eventually fell asleep as she traced the countless scars on his body, dreaming first of their impending wedding day. They were in a large, beautiful, ornate church, the rest of Alpha Company was in attendance, shockingly enough, and the light of the sunset shone through the diamond grid windows inside the chamber's apse. As the ceremony closed and the newly wedded lovers sealed their union with a kiss, the vibrant, colorful world suddenly dulled an grayed...everything seemed to come to a halt, as if time itself was standing still. From the sepia-tinted crowd, Ruby watched as Piermont, wearing a vicious, malicious smile, approached the dolphin. "This all seems a little bit too coincidental, don't you think?" he chuckled.

"Reunited with the love of your life in the most unconventional of places..." he shrugged, "It just _screams deus ex machina_ , doesn't it?"

"Leave me alone..." she said, voice small, "Let me be happy for once in my life."

"You don't _deserve_ happiness," he growled, "You're nothing more than a pathetic waste of air...a creature misplaced from time, something that should have died long ago...how you're still alive confounds me...it confounds _everyone_."

"I said leave me alone..." she replied, voice a little stronger, "Go away!"

"Honey, I'm afraid it doesn't work like that. Perhaps if you'd take a moment to let your stupid fucking mind speak to you, you'd realize something isn't right. But you are a whore, you let your lust take control, your emotions...you aren't a soldier, you are a sorry excuse for one! I will never understand how Alex could have _ever_ loved someone as ridiculous as you, especially considering he's always bragging about his fucking soldier instincts. Stop for a moment, don't let your naivety cloud your judgment, and actually listen to your fucking conscience. You're a soldier, aren't you? Time to start acting like it!"

"I said _GO AWAY!_ " Ruby screamed, shoving the apparition back.

"You are only setting yourself up for complete and utter ruin!" Piermont hissed, "You may not want to believe me..." he grinned darkly, "But just you wait...because someday you _will_ see what's going on, you will realize the truth in all of this...the truth in your little fantasy. When you do...you will snap, and I hope to God that it's explosive...maybe you'll get the merciful way out...you'll die in your outburst...or you'll be killed, put out of your misery, something we should have done a _long_ time ago."

Ruby snapped here, viciously throwing the human-form dragon back, grabbing a crucifix resting on the pulpit and leaping onto the downed beast, stabbing him repeatedly with the artifact. As blood and gore sprayed onto her face and body, coating the carpeted floor and the human-form dragon's own clothes and skin, Piermont laughed.

"You're a dumbass! You can't hurt what isn't real!" and he, much to her horror, disintegrated into a shadowy mist, floating around her body and taking shape once more in front of her, solidifying and regaining appearance, "You can't hurt what isn't real," he repeatedly, this time much darker and more macabre, "Just like what isn't real can't hurt you..." he picked up the dropped crucifix, completely free of any grime now, examining it with a bemused look. In an eerily quick, fluid motion, he was suddenly upon the dolphin, thrusting the shaft of the crucifix deep into her abdomen. A crippling pain shot throughout her body, the fact that it was a phantom feeling only made it worse, and the dream world around stuttered uneasily. Diving the artifact deeper into her body, Piermont leaned in, whispering in her ear, "But that doesn't mean that it can't _seem_ real...mind over matter, after all..." and with another maddening laugh, his form faded away, the world fizzling out until all that remained of the dream was the ghostly echoes of his phantom laughter.

Ruby's eyes snapped open at a burst of booming thunder outside her room, rain pouring heavily down on the sill outside. She was sweating profusely, trembling uncontrollably, and she clutched Alex's sleeping body even tighter, silently crying into his chest, hoping she didn't wake him. She considered telling the Commander of Piermont and Spyro's relentless abuse of her in his absence, but decided against it, fearing that it would only do more harm than good. It wasn't like there was anything he could do about it anyway...they were locked away here, far away from Alpha Company, far away from New Alexandria. Another horrifying thought soon came to her stressed mind...did they even remember her? Or had she been easily forgotten following her forced departure. How were the raptors? Were they fairing well? She was torn, part of her was glad that she was out of there, away from the scorn and emotional abuse, but on another hand, she missed them deeply. Even though she was with Alex once again, reunited with her true love, her soul mate, something still seemed to be missing...and this confused her greatly.

Her mind then turned to Rocket, and she found that she surprisingly missed the raccoon, fearing his safety, especially with the danger of indoctrination, and with the dolphin knowing that Piermont would make good of his threat if Rocket turned again. She was alarmed by an eerie sensation, as if Alex's presence was fading away and she was feeling the sheets beneath him. She clutched him even tighter gasp, awakening her sleeping mate who was quick to try and calm her down.

"Ruby! It's okay...it's okay..." he whispered frantically, holding her, "I'm here...I'm here..."

Once she had calmed, he grabbed her shoulders, holding her before him and asking, "What's wrong, love?"

Ruby teared up, sniffling, but managing a sad smile as Alex wiped a tear away with one soft finger, "I...it was just a nightmare..." she laughed nervously, "I'm...sorry...I'm a great big baby..."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She thought about this for several moments before finally deciding that it wasn't a good idea, and she abruptly shook her head, "No...I can't...I can't remember a whole lot about it anyway..."

He looked at her sympathetically, wiping away another tear, "I'm here for you, Ruby...if you ever want to talk about something...don't hesitate to ask, okay? You do know that, right?"

She nodded.

"Come here..." and they embraced once again, the human-form dolphin crying into his shoulder.

"I'm just...I'm so happy you're here with me...you don't know how horrible it's been without you."

"I will never leave you...even if I'm not there physically...I'll _always_ be with you in spirit."

"Alex...?"

"Yes, love?"

"Hold me...tell me everything will be okay...that this isn't just a lie...that everything really is good between us right now."

He smiled warmly towards her, wrapping a hand around her head and pulling her to his chest, resting his head on top of hers. He stroked her hair, rubbing her upper back, "It was just a dream...don't worry."

"Was it really...?"

"Yes, it was. Everything is fine, don't worry, please don't."

"I'm scared..."

"Of what?"

"Everything...I'm scared of everything. I'm scared of death...I'm scared of going crazy...I'm scared of losing you..."

"I'm here..."

"I know you are...you don't know how much that means to me."

"I love you."

"I love you, too...more than words can possibly describe."

After several minutes, and once her tense body had relaxed again, melting into his as she fully submitted to him, he chanced laying back down again, gently stroking the sleeping Ruby upon his chest.

"I wish I could turn back into my natural form...the medicines they have me on are keeping me prisoner in a body that's not mine and I..." she shook her head, "I want to feel you with my _own_ skin...not this fake costume."

"What happened to wanting to become human?" he chuckled lightly, attempting to lighten her mood.

"How did you know about that?"

"You told me."

"Did I...?" and she was horrified to find that she couldn't recall when, "No...I don't _think_ I did."

"Remember? You told me shortly after you and Sapphire mated for the first time...consensually I mean. I was sitting there on the beach, you swam up to me and said how you wanted to become human."

"No I didn't..." she replied darkly, _You weren't even there...Rainbow Dash was the one who observed us...and I didn't tell her!_ She shook these disturbing thoughts away, saying, "Nevermind...I guess I just forgot, ha...been under so much stress lately that the days seem to melt into one another."

"Get some rest...okay? We have a big day tomorrow."

She nodded, "Yes...goodnight, Alex...and thanks for cheering me up...I really needed it."

"No problem..." he replied, "Goodnight, sexy, I love you."

The next day, Ruby, having forgotten about the previous night, was ecstatic over the upcoming wedding between her and Alex. He told her to meet them in the hospital's chapel after lunch, and the dolphin found that she couldn't wait. Unable to contain her happiness, she told _everyone_ of the impending ceremony, inviting all the patients who seemed to have some slight grasp over their sanity, as well as all of the doctors. She even tried inviting Lucy, but found that the spirit residing in the mossy, weathered, stone gargoyle was inactive, likely sleeping, or meditating.

Finally, the time came, and she felt nervous, her stomach turning repeatedly in her abdomen. She was so anxious she was sick, but a the same time, she was more excited than she could possibly describe. After achieving her long-cherished dream of mating with Alex, she had adopted a new goal in their relationship, to find a way to marry him. Although marriage was a strictly human ceremony, and the others in Alpha Company, including Sapphire, had no idea why it was such a big deal to her, for whatever reason, Ruby wanted it more than anything. She figured it was a remnant of Vitam's spirit, residing deep down in her body, craving the ceremony between the ancient lovers to be renewed.

As she began the nervous, seemingly mile-long journey across the hospital to the chapel, she retreated deep into herself, sorting her thoughts and attempting to control her rampaging emotions. Only once she had regained control over herself did she begin to notice some things. First off, the logical side of her personality began to identify several factors that didn't seem right. It was as if she was living inside of a simulation that she didn't know existed, but the program was starting to glitch out, or her dormant, dreaming mind was starting to become aware of the fact that she was in a glorified fantasy. She could see, but at the same time _not_ see, something _beneath_ the reality...as if there was a lively scene being projected onto one that was quite the opposite. The whole world lacked...depth...as all she could really describe it. On the surface, everything looked all fine and pretty...but beneath it...there was something else, perhaps some grim truths that were covered by some massive lie.

Even still... _none_ of this prepared her for what she would see in that chapel.

As she turned a corner, brushing her hair with her hand obsessively, she felt the euphoria of the impending event return, once more drowning out the mental alarms her logical side was blaring. As she stepped into the chapel, her smile slowly dissolving into a frown of absolute horror, memory of the dream she had the previous night returned, and now Piermont's mocking words suddenly made sense...

She screamed...

She screamed as loud as she could, collapsing to her feet in the middle of the empty aisle between the door and the pulpit. The chapel was completely empty, not a soul in sight.

" _This all seems a little bit too coincidental, don't you think?"_

"ALEX!" she screamed.

" _You're a dumbass! You can't hurt what isn't real!"_

She leaped to her feet, running out of the church and towards the males' wing of the hospital, racing towards Alex's room.

" _...You can't hurt what isn't real!"_

"Alex!" she forced through tears.

" _...What isn't real!"_

She raced into Alex's room, abruptly looking around to find that his bed was empty...in fact, there _was_ no bed in the corner of 'his' room.

" _That doesn't mean that it can't_ seem _real...mind over matter, after all..."_

Ruby then forced her way outside, her hysterical screams attracting the attention of the doctors and a number of the patients. Half naked, clad only in a bra and panties, she stood in the middle of the muddy playground, scanning the nameless faces for any sight of the Commander. When she couldn't see him anywhere, she collapsed onto her knees, curling into fetal position, _This can't be happening!_ she cried out, _NO! No, no, no, NO!_

 _Ruby!?_ Lucy suddenly interrupted, frightened, _What's wrong?_

"ALEX!" she screamed, "Where is _ALEX!?_ "

 _Ruby..._ Lucy suddenly began soberly, _I tried to tell you..._

"Where is he!?"

 _He's not real, Ruby...there was never anybody there, you were just talking to yourself._

Instantly, the dolphin was surrounded by doctors, attempting to restrain her in her rampaging, maddened state. As they grabbed her hands, arms, and chest, attempting to restrain her, she screamed once again, throwing them aside and snarling, "STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

 _Ruby! Calm down!_

"YOU SHUT UP!" she howled at Lucy, "Just... _SHUT UP!_ You're not real! _NONE_ of this is real! You're a lie! Just like him!"

 _Ruby..._ and Lucy seemed genuinely hurt.

"YOU AREN'T REAL!" she repeatedly as the doctors tried once again to restrain her. They finally succeeded in knocking her to the ground, climbing on top of her and pulling out syringes filled with unknown drugs. Instantly, the human-form dolphin's fight-or-flight response kicked in, and with a surge of mutated adrenaline surging through her veins, she managed to throw the pile of bodies off of her, picking herself up and snarling. One brave doctor charged towards her, syringe in hand. With a roar, she pounced upon him, not only wrestling the syringe free, but turning it against him, stabbing the man repeatedly in the face and throat. He screamed in pain and agony, blood splattering onto the dolphin's face as the syringe punctured his eyes, popping them like balloons. The world tinted red in her fury, Ruby's senses became hyper-aware and she turned to face the other doctors, calling upon her hydrokinetic powers as she manipulated the puddles around the playground, turning them into watery tentacles which she used to strike and impale her attackers. One doctor grabbed onto her throat, managing to stab her with a syringe. She howled in pain, throwing him into the wall of the building and turning her tentacles upon him, freezing them into ice and impaling and crushing him dozens of times beneath it.

She threw the charging doctors around, dodging their lunges and countering with various blows. Her next kill came as she ripped a scalpel free from an unconscious doctor nearby and sliced the man's throat. He clutched the wound, blood spraying onto the already soaked creature. After several minutes of this, the doctors backed away and the dolphin could hear sirens in the distance, fast approaching. Standing off against one trembling doctor, plastered up against the fence and sheltering his face against her, Ruby's vision dulled and her body numbed as the sedatives she had been hit with earlier began to take effect.

Stepping towards the man, she finally fell to the ground, losing all control of her limbs as her consciousness slipped away, the last words on her lips being the name of her lover...nothing more than a mad delusion.

Ruby slowly came to, groaning, her head pounding, eyes burning. She tried to look around, but found that her maneuverability was limited. She looked down at herself, trying to figure out why she couldn't move, and was horrified to find that, not only has she been placed into a strait jacket, but she had been bound tightly to her bed. She tried to scream, but found that she had _also_ been gagged, and so, she could do little but cry out into the darkness of her silent, empty mind...

...But there was no response.


	31. Chapter XXX: Turning the Tides

_**Chapter XXX**_ **:**

 **-''Turning the Tides''-**

 **-New Alexandria, Montana-**

 **- _29 May 2015_ -**

 **- _0700 Hours_ -**

"...In other news, authorities are _still_ trying to figure out what exactly happened at the New Haven Mental Hospital in Helena yesterday afternoon," the newswoman began, and Cynder hastily called everyone over to where she sat.

"What's going on?" Dash asked.

Cynder shook her head, "I'm not sure...but something happened in Helena...New Haven Mental Hospital...isn't that where we took Ruby?"

"...The only information that the Helena Police Department have shared is that there was an incident with one of the patients there, resulting in dozens injured and seven doctors confirmed dead. We reached out to the staff but so far have not received a response, we'll update when we can..."

Cynder suddenly felt sick to her stomach, and she looked away, trying to keep herself from vomiting.

"What the fuck happened?" Spyro asked.

The dragoness shook her head, "I don't know...but I'm going to call them...see if Ruby had anything to do with it..." and she walked away, leaving the suite.

The others in Alpha Company all exchanged uneasily glances, fearing that the dolphin _was_ somehow involved. After several moments of awkward silence, Piermont finally broke his, saying in a cold tone, "Told ya she was fucked."

"Now, now..." Zinnia interrupted, sitting on the couch, an arm around Aphrodite, "There's no guarantee that she was involved."

"Bullshit," Piermont hissed, "I'm sure everyone here will agree with me when I say that Alex's fucking dolphin is a goddamn basketcase. She ain't right in the head, she's _never_ been right in the head, and if all this crap was the work of _ONE FUCKING PATIENT_ , bet you a Benjamin that the stupid friggin' fish was behind it."

"We'll wait until we hear more before we take a side," Zinnia said...but only Tiberius and Athena nodded in agreement. The others glanced at the girl uneasily, and one quick glance across the crowd told the girl all that she needed to know...Ruby had _no_ friends in Alpha Company. Even _Sapphire_ seemed to believe, albeit unwilling to accept, that Ruby was responsible.

"I-If Ruby was i-involved..." Aphrodite began nervously, "Wh-who's gonna break it to Rocket?"

"Ain't nobody will," Piermont scowled, "Friggin' raccoon ain't one of us, so he has no business knowing anything about what's going on."

When Cynder finally returned and was assaulted with questions, she only shrugged, saying, "Nobody picked up...not surprised, considering I'm sure they're currently figuring out how to clean up that mess...oh well, we'll keep tabs on the news, they'll tell the world eventually."

"Don't quite like finding out about something like this when the media feels like they want to...especially if it involves one of _our_ guys," Spyro replied begrudgingly.

"Yeah, well tough tits," Piermont hissed, "'Sides, I never considered that goddamn fish to be one of _our_ guys, only Alex did."

"Yeah? Well unfortunately, she's still registered in the database as a member of Alpha Company, meaning that regardless of whether or not _we_ consider her a part of our little clique, officially she is."

"Just what we need...another fucking international incident," Jazz sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Cause you'd know all about that wouldn't you, Corporal?" Spyro said venomously, "You've done shit like this, too."

"Why do you feel it necessary to keep bringing up the Shade King?" the rabbit sighed, no longer fighting it, "I'm not that person anymore."

"It doesn't matter, it's still a nice stain on our reputation."

The rabbit smirked, "Buddy, our reputation hasn't been pure since we were founded, so it's not like it's our first, and it sure as hell won't be the last."

"Will you guys stop fighting? Jeez..." Rapid exclaimed, "We have enough to worry about rather than tearing ourselves apart."

Damn it, Reverend, none of us even _wanted_ to get the band back together!" Spyro responded, "After Alex died, Alpha Company split, we _all_ closed that chapter of our lives, and we were satisfied with it. As far as _I'm_...and most of us...are concerned, we're being bound here, held against our will."

"You could always just...walk away and never look back," Rapid suggested, "I mean, it's not like you're contractually obligated to stay here. If you don't like it, leave."

"You know I can't do that. My responsibilities won't allow me the pleasure."

"Then stop complaining or step down! Simple as that! Nobody's _forcing_ you to command this militia. You step down and there's a long line of people who are _more_ than willing to take up the mantle in your absence."

Spyro fell silent.

"Uh huh, that's what I thought."

"Fuck you."

"Language!"

Spyro only rolled his eyes.

There was a light knock on the door, which Spyro, with an exasperated sigh, answered with, "Come in!"

The door slowly opened and Rocket, eyes bloodshot and clearly suffering from a hangover, stumbled in, nodding towards them, "So...uh...Fox says he's got something he wants to show you guys."

Alpha Company exchanged glances with each other.

"Yeah...he said he tried calling you but...nobody answered."

"Thanks," Cynder finally said, glaring, annoyed, at her rude mate, "Tell him we're on our way."

Rocket waddled away, giving them a thumbs up and saying, "Rog..." before leaving the room, shutting the door behind him.

When Cynder glared at him again, Spyro exclaimed, "What!? What did _I_ do!?"

"You know...you're becoming really mean lately."

"Sorry to offend you, Princess, but we've got all this crap going on in the world right now and everyone's so damn worried about hurt feelings."

The she-dragon scoffed, walking away, "Sometimes I wonder what the hell is wrong with you."

"Yeah...love you, too."

But Cynder left the suite, slamming the door shut behind her.

"You know..." Aria began, "You may want to consider treating her with a little more respect, girls don't like being talked down, too. I'd hate to see your guys' relationship disintegrate after everything you've been through together."

"I've started reaching a point now where I don't really care what happens anymore," Spyro scowled, "She changed when Alex died."

"Obviously, he was her mate, too."

The dragon shook his head, "I don't really care anymore, it's not like they were anything more than friends with benefits."

"You don't know that."

"I didn't ask you, did I?"

"Be careful what you say," Aria replied, "You never know if something will happen between now and the next time you see here. Treat every moment with your loved ones as if it's your last...because it could very well be."

"Oh shut up, Aria," the dragon spat, returning to his room.

Spyro and Cynder noticeably kept their distance from each other upon entering Fox's lab in the command center. The doctor and Bleu were currently observing several opened programs on one of the room's computers, showing a matrix of constantly shifting numbers. Spyro sent his mate a glance, the she-dragon merely looked away, unable to meet it, she was seriously hurt by his outburst earlier, and although this pissed him off, he forced himself to maintain his silence and distance.

"What do we have, Elliot?" Cherub asked, nodding towards the doctor.

"Perhaps a solution to our Reaper problem..." the doctor replied, looking up and adjusting the glasses on the bridge of his nose, "Come take a look at this."

They all gathered around the terminal, watching the numbers roll by. Impatient, Spyro shrugged, "What are we looking at?"

Bleu answered, "This is the Reaper hivemind...what we've spent the last several months trying to decipher."

"...And?"

"And we still haven't had much luck..." Fox replied.

"Then why the bloody hell did you drag us all the way over here?"

"Because we might have an idea on how to speed things along," Bleu replied, and he and Fox exchanged victorious grins.

"Spit it out already."

"Remember last year, when Zack was intercepting Harbinger's signals and programming his own...bending the Reapers to his will?"

"Of course."

"Well...Bleu and I were staying late last night when he actually came up with a brilliant idea...I'll let him explain here."

Bleu stepped forward then, clearing his throat, "We found out last year that Zack was controlling the Reapers via a hacked brain he had attached to ADAM, powering it with the excess energy that the cannon couldn't use from the heart. These machines may be nearly impenetrable against our obsolete weapons...but our friends from across the galaxy have proven several times that the machines themselves are fully capable of tearing through each other."

"Meaning...?"

" _Meaning_...if we can acquire a Reaper brain, we may be able to do what Zack did, hacking it to force the Reapers to obey our commands. If anything, we can chase them away from the planet, then sic them on one another until there's nothing left."

"Okay...? So riddle me this then, genius. How the hell are we gonna obtain a _working_ brain. We'd probably have to kill one first before we're able to, even then, we have to be sure we don't damage the brain or it'll just be a waste of time, ammunition, and lives. In case you haven't realized it, with the _Ring_ damaged beyond repair and Beta Company nearly extinct, there is no way we'll be able to destroy another one of those machines."

"Who says we have to?" Fox asked.

"Uh huh...so a Reaper is just gonna casually give us its brain and let us hack into the hivemind again."

"Nope."

"Then what's the damn plan!"

Bleu said here, "Simple...it's called recycling. The ruins of Eden are still sitting out there in the Toronto wilderness...you go back there, get me that brain, and I'll see if I can get it operational again."

"Go back to Eden? That place is a fucking deathtrap! We won't survive five minutes there!"

"I doubt any of the Neo- _Maxian_ soldiers there are still alive after everything that city has been through, and even if they did survive both the Reaper attack _and_ the fall, they're surely either gone or dead by now...it's been almost a year."

"I doubt it's very safe to go spelunking in," Spyro scowled.

"Do you have any better ideas?" Fox interrupted, "Listen, this is the best lead we got...I know you don't wanna go back there for fear of triggering old memories or whatnot...but we finally have a plan here that may just work. If you encounter _anything_ living in those ruins, it's probably some animals, and _maybe_ a raider or two...surely nothing that will give you much trouble, being big bad Alpha Company and such."

"What about radiation leakage from ADAM? Since we were never actually able to blow the damn thing up before the city became a crater."

"We'll supply you with a Geiger counter and rad suits just in case. There may be some pockets of spilled radiation, but once more, shouldn't be too hard to find a way to bypass them. I'd be more worried about getting lost in there than any other physical danger. Surely it's like an undiscovered cavern by now...a cavern of mangled steel, wiring, ceramic, and broken stone."

Spyro moved to say something before Cynder quickly interrupted him, "When are we leaving?"

"As soon as you possibly can," Fox replied with a sigh, leaning forward against the computer desk, palms outstretched on the veneered plywood, "The sooner we can get that brain to Bleu, the sooner we can find a way to stop the Reapers. Can't help but feel that we're at the point of no return...low-end estimations are that almost 70% of the human race is either dead or infected now thanks to those damned machines, that's not even counting the indoctrinated...and the death toll continues to rise by the millions every day. We're in crunch time now, any longer and there won't be anyone left to stop them."

"What's the projected time until world extinction?" Cynder asked nervously.

Fox exchanged glances with everyone in the room, "Given the rise in Reaper activity and the lack of distracting genesis ports...anywhere from a few days, to a week, to a month...although that last one is _really_ pushing it on the high end."

"Jesus..." Spyro sighed, rubbing the corners of his eyes with two ivory claws.

"Try to reinforce the city as much as we possibly can..." Jazz hissed, "It's only a matter of time before they come back to finish what they started last year."

Fox nodded solemnly, "Roger that...you guys go to Eden and get that brain...but please be careful. As pathetic, cheesy, and downright cliché as this sounds...you guys are our last hope...and the last hope for the survival of the human race. Godspeed."

As they left the room, Jazz chuckled darkly, saying, "Let's hope that no dumbass raider decided he could sell the brain to make a quick buck."

"Doubt it's very light, probably will need a team to move that thing around," Aria said.

"Yeah?" Jazz grimaced, "Never underestimate the sweet, seductive call of money."


	32. Chapter XXXI: Ghost in the Machine

_**Chapter XXXI**_ **:**

 **-''Ghost in the Machine''-**

 **-New Alexandria, Montana-**

 **- _30 May 2015_ -**

 **- _0901 Hours_ -**

Ares and Thanatos, standing on the bridge of their cloaked flagship hovered outside of the city, watching as Alpha Company took off to somewhere unknown. Ares turned to his subordinate, "Take one of the small cruisers and follow them, discover where they are going and kill them."

"Yes, Ares..." then, "What will you do?"

"Harbinger has given me a task to complete."

Thanatos nodded, "Yes, Ares."

"When you find out what they're up to, inform us. If they have a plan to stop us, it is imperative that we know."

Once Thanatos had vanished into the bowels of the ship, Ares snarled towards the distant city, feeling a fiery hate burning deep in the pit of his stomach. Something about this place angered him, and he didn't know why. Perhaps something seemed familiar here, but his inability to find out what angered him, either way, he had been instructed by Harbinger to take down the city at last, and Ares bad every intention to prolong its inhabitants' suffering.

For several minutes he waited in place, observing the quiet city, watching as soldiers began to arrive at the walls, appearing to start improving the city's defenses. It was here that he decided to strike, ordering infected Trojan ships to start kamikaze runs against the city. He watched as the Terminator forces shot the ships out of the sky, not realizing that in doing so, they were still spreading the deadly spores throughout the outer reaches.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light in the sky, and Ares craned his neck to see Harbinger appear, along with the rest of the armada, above the city to begin the assault. It seemed that the Reaper commander was willing to take no chance in the militia scraping by in this one. Upon spying the rest of the armada dropping their cloaks, he ordered for his own ship to do the same, and within seconds, they were moving towards the city, being fired upon by the wall's defenses. The mighty machines unleashed electromagnetic pulses from their bodies, frying the city's forcefields and allowing them to start attacking it interior from above.

Sirens blared throughout the city, the militia's defense turrets buzzed to life, the automated railguns trying to shoot through the armada's shields, but to no avail. As they moved further and further into enemy territory, the constant barrage of anti-aircraft began to weaken the shields on the ship, surprising Ares...they had strengthened their defense since his last visit to the capital. Even with all hands on deck, firing relentlessly towards the ground and taking down as many of their attackers as possible, eventually the shields flickered out with an audible, electrical hiss and the blaring of alarms throughout the craft.

Without protection, the Reaper general was caught off guard as the relentless barrage ripped through the tough hull of the ship, damaging numerous vital, life support systems. "Engines are offline, we're losing altitude!" a fellow indoctrinated hissed across the bridge, "Ares...what are we to do?"

"If it's a fight they want...it's a fight they will get. When we land, get ready to charge...they cannot take us all down."

 _Ares_ , Harbinger began telepathically, _What is going on?_

 _The city is much stronger than it was during our initial assault a year ago...we should have destroyed it then. Our objective was incomplete._

 _If we would have completed our objective, we wouldn't have gained a valuable ally in Thanatos._

 _I'm aware._

The impact from the crash nearly destroyed every unit on board the ship, only Ares, bloody and beaten, but still alive, managed to climb out of the wreckage, along with a few other units. Instantly the surviving _Perditus_ units charged towards the rapidly approaching Terminator forces, attempting to clear the wreckage of survivors. With them distracted, and several indoctrinated attempting to recover from the crash, Ares quickly fled the scene, navigating the labyrinthine alleys and streets in the city's districts, trying to find some way he could gain the advantage. Things would have been much easier if Thanatos were still here...and Ares briefly wondered how successful his partner had been in tailing Alpha Company. This soon deviated to another thought...at least the mutants were not here to further resist.

Ideally, the city would fall under Reaper control before they returned from their trip, then the mutants would walk into an ambush, ready and waiting for them. Soon, the streets were flooded with newly infected units as the Trojan ship's spores began to take effect. Even with the odds stacked heavily against them, the entire armada against the militia, they still held their own quite well, making it worrisome the death toll became higher for the Reaper forces than the militia.

Harbinger suddenly called back to him, saying, _Thanatos has successfully tracked the escaped mutants._

 _Where are they?_

 _The city of the man who imprisoned us, who tried and failed to control our influence._

 _Perhaps they are looking to do the same?_

 _He has agreed to stop them before they can._

Another hour passed, then another, and finally Ares found what he was looking for. Near the farthest reaches of New Alexandria's Industrial District, almost straddling the border between that and the West Mining District, lay an oil rig, abandoned during the initial attack the Reapers had launched against the city. From the top platform, the Reaper general had a panoramic view of multiple fronts along the city's interior, and the fact that there was only one way up to here meaning that he could easily funnel attackers through a 'hall of death'.

Satisfied, he reported his findings to Harbinger, who soon responded with a dire, worrisome meessage, _We have lost Thanatos, activating indoctrinated within the mutant division_.

Several minutes later, just as the Terminator forces began to close in on Ares, Harbinger sent yet another message:

 _Indoctrinated units are unresponsive, attempting manual override of Thanatos_.

 _What's going on over there?_

No response for several more minutes until, at last, _We have lost complete control over Thanatos, unit offline, releasing control._

Ares snarled, stiffening as he was surrounded from behind by a squad of heavily armored Terminator soldiers. With swift reflexes he rotated on his heels, abruptly taking them down with several terrakinetic attacks before blocking the only access to him, summoning a massive, thick, rock wall between the room he was sheltering in and the hall. As he heard the men swear and attempt to break down the wall behind him, Ares sat cross-legged upon the platform, peering out over the city around him.


	33. Chapter XXXII: To Hell and Back

_**Chapter XXXII**_ **:**

 **-''To Hell and Back''-**

 **-Above Toronto, Canada-**

 **- _30 May 2015_ -**

 **- _1240 Hours: Three Hours Earlier..._ -**

"We should be getting close..." Aria said, flying low through the thick cloud cover above the Toronto wilderness.

"Wonder what we'll find down there," Cynder said, "I wouldn't think that anyone would take over the ruins but...in this day and age, who really knows for sure?"

"Even if someone did take it over," Spyro replied, "Shouldn't pose a threat to us."

"Why did we have to drag the fuckin' raccoon and his buddies with us out here?" Piermont snarled, puffing from a cigarette.

"We'll need all the help we can get to lift the brain, most likely," Dash said, "Doubt the thing is very light."

"Yeah well...they're not one of us, so they don't fuckin' belong here. It's none of their business."

"They're only here to help..." Cynder replied.

"Don't give a shit."

Silence for several moments before Spyro said, "Anybody else kinda nervous about going here?"

He was ignored however, and through the fog outside of the Hornet, the decrepit, already overgrown ruins of Eden came into full view. The sight was both sickening, nerve-wracking, but also heartbreaking, and each member of Alpha Company found themselves overwhelmed with memories of their times with Alex upon arriving at the scene. Zachary James Dawson was someone who really did not want to be the bad guy, he truly believed that what he was doing was the right thing...and even if his methods were wrong, his mission was not.

Eden had once been a technological marvel, even the mutant division would admit that it was a work of art, a piece of sheer beauty, and that the floating city deserved the pride that Zack had given it up until the moment of his death and the destruction of the Roman-inspired sanctuary. To see it reduced to a pile of skeletal steel and busted stone, lonely, forgotten, and abandoned, was truly a devastating sight to behold, and Alpha Company only wished that there was something else they could have done, that there was some way they could have saved the maddened human being...a man who never had a chance to grow up, a soldier who was never allowed to seek help for his suffering, a man driven mad by the horrors of his past...a fate that Alex likely would have met, had he not had Alpha Company to keep him at least somewhat tethered to reality.

Somber and driven into respectful silence as they neared the ruins, knowing very well that they had also lost many of their own in the battle, not just the _Maxia_ , Aria gently lowered the Hornet into a clearing, killing the engines and hopping out of the aircraft, throwing open the side door and taking several steps forward. The air was calm, the wind was almost nonexistent, and although the sight of the imposing ruins was haunting, there was also a sense of peace within it...despite the utter tragedy and brutality that had occurred, the terrible fate met by the remainder of the Neo- _Maxian_ Republic and the heavy casualty toll from both armies, there was a sense of serenity and peace akin to a military cemetery. Despite everything, all the souls that had been lost that day rested in peace.

Occasionally, they would find the bones of a slain dragon, but they encountered a surprising lack of human corpses, leaving them to believe that _someone_ had gone through and buried the dead...or what was left of them. The skies above were overcast, the fog that had obscured the city from their view had begun to sink lower, settling within the forest encompassing the crater where Eden now resided, and although they heard nothing except for a very rare gust of warm wind, they were at peace, not nervous or worried at all.

"The souls of our brothers watch over us..." Rapid said in a low, somber tone,

Alpha Company slowly entered the ruins through a gaping breach in the side of the city's hull, slightly wincing upon the creaking metal when they first entered. It seemed that someone _had_ been in here, much of the debris had been moved to the side, creating a sort of aisle that led deeper into the ruins, and as they followed it, they eventually entered what was once Zack's war room. They were met with several rows of homemade, wooden crosses, each one adorned with various dried up flowers, and as they continued further in, Spyro had a revelation.

It didn't matter, at the end of the day, what someone's beliefs or values were. It didn't matter if one had differing ideals from another, ultimately, there were no 'sides'. At the end of the day, everyone was alive, deserving of equal rights, appreciation, respect. The graves were unmarked, but the dragon could only assume that the _Maxia_ and the Terminator Militia had been buried together. Walking through the makeshift cemetery, Spyro was alarmed to feel something brush across the back of his neck, and he abruptly looked around. The air was light, friendly, and tranquil...truly, the cemetery was blessed and at peace. He could almost feel the spirits of their brothers lost walking alongside them...and one glance around at the rest of his unit hinted at similar feelings in them.

Regardless of everything that had happened, all they had lost...they were still a band of brothers, they had been through hell together, and they were a family. Perhaps they had _all_ been wrong all along...it wasn't impossible for them to rekindle their friendships and brotherly love for one another, but they _all_ had to reduce their own egos, to be willing to compromise in order to make things work. Of course they were all different, Alpha Company itself was more than just an amalgamation of different species, like the other ranks, it was an amalgamation of different sexualities, origins, ideologies, religions, and beliefs, in order to respect one another, they had to set aside their differences and respect each other evenly. Alex would be ashamed at what had become of the unit, reduced to ceaseless, bitter infighting, turning on each other...and they had all ganged up on Ruby.

The dragon suddenly missed the dolphin, wanting to see her again and hoping that she was okay. Her nervous breakdown and suicidal attempt was no doubt a result of the constant abuse they forced her through. They had _all_ taken out their anger at each other and unhappiness over Alex's death on her...something that she was undeserving of, and even though she _was_ flawed...weren't they all? If only they had tried to be there with her, to help her through her grief, especially horrible on her given her infallible love for her mate...maybe things would have turned out differently.

Spyro turned to face Piermont, also feeling sorry for the silent, human-form dragon. To lose a rider was the worst experience that a bonded dragon could go through...it was why most dragons suicided or lost their minds after the event. Yet, not taking into account Piermont's few outbursts, the dragon had largely remained in control, suffering through his obvious loneliness and loss alone. He was fighting against his nature, and the nature of all bonded dragons, but he wasn't winning...he was merely delaying the inevitable. As cruel as he could be, as abusive and violent, he, too, deserved to be cared for and treated with respect, especially after losing one of the few people he really did care about.

Although there were a few it was too late for...Ruby had been abandoned by her family, after sitting through months of relentless abuse, and was probably too far gone to be saved, much like Piermont who was nothing more than a shell of his former self, most of Alpha Company still had a chance to bury the hatchet. Spyro was then aware of a soft, furry paw on the back of his neck, patting him gently, and he turned to spy Jazz nodding sadly towards him before continuing on. They had all changed, and while some, like the dragon himself, had changed for the worst, others, like Jazz, _had_ changed for the better...the rabbit was different, he truly regretted what he did as the Shade King, and if he could completely change, becoming a better person and going the extra mile to make up to all the people he had hurt, he _did_ deserve a second chance...they all did.

Another odd feeling, almost electric, surged through Spyro's mind and body, snapping him out of his trance...they weren't alone. He stopped in the middle of the room, heart sinking as he looked around him. Faintly, he could make out the outlines of Crash, Cheet, Tails, Rudolph, and Simba, all walking alongside the rest of their old unit...transparent ghosts that only _he_ seemed to be able to see. He felt an odd surge of strength, as if something had opened up deep inside of him, a hidden reservoir of power, and a warm feeling, like seeing an old friend again filled him...among the spirits walking alongside them, protecting them in this ironically hollowed ground, were those in Alpha Company who had fallen over the years. Perhaps what was more shocking to him, there was only one other soul he could identify walking with them...Zack Dawson himself. Although he seemed to have aged in reverse, now appearing like a boy of mid teens, he only nodded at the dragon in confirmation, grinning widely before he turned and rejoined the residual spirits in their slow, but graceful stroll. He had to stop and rub his eyes, alarmed, but strangely not frightened, when he saw dozens of ghostly spirits strolling through the creeping Alpha Company. Although there was no color to their forms, they were mere outlines of humanoid shapes, colored a brilliant, almost luminescent white, he could make out from their uniforms that it wasn't just Terminator soldiers walking with them, but _Maxian_ ones as well.

There was an eerie groaning of steel and metal, alerting him from his trance-like gaze, and a dark feeling settled in the pit of his stomach...something wasn't right. He truly believed that all of these spirits had appeared to protect them from something else lurking in here...he didn't think it were demons or any other 'evil' entity...but perhaps something still living...

"Can you see them?" Rapid suddenly asked the dragon, startling him.

"See what?" the dragon asked in a small voice.

The skunk was smiling widely, looking around him, "Them...all of these guardian souls."

"I thought I was just crazy..."

"The mutation serum enables us to see what others normally wouldn't...God is truly here with us right now."

Spyro snorted, "Ironic, considering all the crap we've done the past few months."

"I feel like this is doubling as a reawakening...not only has God summoned the resting souls of the lost here to protect us and guide us to our objective...but this encounter was intended for us to experience...do you feel different?"

"At peace..." the dragon replied with a faint nod, "Something I haven't felt in a _long_ time...ever since I first stepped into the Dragon Temple and could feel the guardians of old protecting the sacred ground."

"Anything else?"

Spyro slowly nodded, "Starting to think about everything we've done the past few months...I feel so guilty...for hurting Ruby, for disrespecting Piermont while the kid's only trying to stay alive..."

"A reawakening..." Rapid chuckled, "We are in His hands."

"There's something else, too..." Spyro replied grimly, "I can't shake the feeling that there's something evil lurking here as well...maybe not supernatural but..."

"Guys..." Cynder suddenly interrupted from the front of the group, "Check this out..." and she nodded ahead.

Exchanging glances, Rapid and Spyro approached her, standing side-by-side as they observed the chamber beyond. Although the clutter and debris littering the room made it completely unrecognizable, the badly bent, imposing object at the far end told them exactly where they were. On the opposite side of the room, the remains of ADAM lay in a crumpled heap, it's cannon bent almost ninety degrees downward, wires hanging out everywhere, massive chunks of its hull missing. The weapon itself was still attached to its pedestal, but it was barely clinging on, and another series of metallic creaks and groans, as well as the whistle of wind spread throughout the eerily silent chamber.

Spyro looked around, finding that the ghostly apparitions that had escorted them here had vanished and weer nowhere to be found...he didn't feel like they had been completely abandoned by them, but he felt that the spirits had not followed them into the room, whether they were forbidden entry, had completed their objective and returned to their slumber, or were perhaps _keeping something out_. He rotated on his heels, facing the breach where they had entered from, but found nothing there...it seemed that they had faded from visibility...if they _were_ still there anyway.

Upon finally reaching the pedestal upon which ADAM once sat, Jazz, armed with a Geiger counter, tested the surrounding area, finding that there was no radiation, or at least at detectable levels, bleeding off the ruined weapon. Thankfully, directly in front of them, attached to the side of the hull and of relatively easy access to them, was their objective, the brain of the Reaper Sovereign, the first Reaper that the militia had encountered shortly after the machines' emergence through a genesis port during the Capstone Crisis. Adjacent to the brain was Sovereign's heart, originally the power source for the cannon, and unfortunately in much better shape than the brain. Suddenly, Rocket shoved Spyro aside, running to the cannon and quickly climbing up to where the heart was attached.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing!?" Aria hissed.

"The final piece of the puzzle..." Rocket said, in a daze, repeating the line over and over again, "The final piece...the final piece...the final piece..."

"Rocket! What the _fuck_ are you doing!?" Piermont growled, "Our goal is the brain, dipshit!"

The ruins groaned around them once again, this time loud enough to cause anxious glances from everyone, and with a loud, metallic screech, a huge sheet of metal fell from the top of the room, almost two hundred feet up, smacking several, jutting girders on its way to the floor, where it crashed into the path between them and where they had come from, effectively blocking it.

Aria walked up to the brain, kneeling beside it while Quill gently lowered his ship through the roof and into the center of the room, hopping out, a toolbox in hand. More pieces of the ceiling began to come down onto them, and Spyro hissed, "Shit...we need to pick up the pace, this place is unstable."

"Working on it," Aria replied, currently trying to detach the brain, "But if you can break Rocket from his fucking madness mantra and get him to help us, we might be able to move a _little_ faster."

More groaning and protesting metal sounded around them, this time much louder, accompanied by a low rattle, and everyone was instantly on alert, looking towards the ceiling, scanning around, "I have a feeling we're not alone..." Spyro replied in a worried tone.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, a line of throwing knives launched towards them from above, ricocheting off of ADAM and scattering the group. That rattled sounded again, and they could make out a dark shape crawling around like a spider in the shadows above.

"Who's there!?" Piermont roared.

Another chunk of steel came down from the ceiling then, cutting off Piermont, standing in the center of the room, from the rest of Alpha Company, hugging the side of ADAM, and the creature spoke, "Well, well, well...what do we have here? You have no purpose in the land of the dead!" and it laughed maddeningly, dropping down onto the floor.

" _THANATOS!_ " Piermont growled, quickly taking on a defensive position.

"Aww..." the Reaper general taunted, crouching towards the ground, back arched and twisted, walking circles around the human-form dragon, "You remembered my name! How thoughtful..."

"Where's your fuckbuddy?" the dragon hissed.

"Ares? Oh...he's back in New Alexandria...currently leading the armada in our grand assault on the capital of the resistance."

"You _BASTARD_!" the dragon howled, firing the entire clip of his AK47 towards Thanatos who leaped, flipped, and somersaulted out of the way of the bullets, leaping into the air and landing behind Piermont, kicking his feet out from beneath him. The human-form dragon dropped the weapon, stumbling to his knees before Thanatos drilled into his back, sending him flying across the room and slamming into the plate of steel between him and the rest of Alpha Company.

Dazed, Piermont picked himself up, holding his head against the pain of impact. Thanatos straightened, unsheathing his high-frequency katanas and saying in a low chuckle, "Let's _dance!_ "

Piermont ran forward towards Thanatos, heading towards his dropped weapon. The Reaper general backflipped out of the way, sending out another line of throwing knives in midair before landing smoothly upon one of the jutting girders, throwing a barrage of knives towards the dragon, rolling to evade them. He finally grabbed his weapon, hastily loading a fresh clip and peering through the iron sights on the barrel, firing towards Thanatos who proceeded to flip to another girder, unleashing another dozen knives at the dragon. One bullet ripped through Thanatos' arm, the general hissed, dropping his blade to the ground below, tearing through the steel floor and standing upright. The general evaded another series of rounds, leaping to yet _another_ girder up before jumping onto the wall, crawling up the domed roof like a spider. Another bullet ripped through one of his hands and Thanatos fell several feet, grabbing a protruding girder and flipping up and over it, using the momentum of the jump to land towards Piermont, second blade stabbed forward, attempting a drop attack.

The human-form dragon evaded this in a sideroll and Thanatos connected with the ground, his blade becoming stuck in the ground. As he tried to rip it free, Piermont unleashed the remainder of his clip towards the general, punching through the creature's cloak and sending spurts of black, oily blood shooting out. Piermont ran backwards, loading a fresh clip while Thanatos finally managed to tear his blade free, sprinting towards the human-form dragon, blade outstretched like one of the swordsman in an anime. As he neared the dragon, who finally struck the back of the wall, he swiped his sword horizontally. Piermont ducked beneath the attack, swinging below Thanatos' left arm and swiftly taking one of the creature's throwing knives from his belt, stabbing it into the shoulder. There was an electrical zap and sparks spewed out from the point of penetration, causing Thanatos to growl in fury and grab Piermont's throat with his right hand, smashing his head into the wall and throwing the human-form dragon across the arena. He hit the center of the floor, bouncing twice before sliding to a stop up against the plate blocking him from ADAM.

Tearing free his other blade, Thanatos leaped into the air, front-flipping towards Piermont and attempting to impale him from above. With a precise burst of fire, Piermont shot the creature's left hand, forcing him to drop one of the blades to the ground, now buzzing and vibrating across the metal floor. Piermont somersaulted forward, picking up Thanatos' vibrating blade and becoming suddenly aware of the vibration completely numbing his arm. Now two-handing his second sword, Thanatos zipped across the arena, attempting an upward slash to cut down the dragon. However, Piermont intercepted this by slashing the sword to the side, severing Thanatos' left arm with an electrical hiss. The Reaper general cried out in fury, coming to a rest across the arena from Piermont. His left arm, now laying beside the dragon, twitched and sputtered on the floor before finally stilling, sparks shooting from wires jutting from the end.

"Raaagh!" he hissed, "You will _PAY_ for that!" but as he charged towards Piermont, the dragon swiftly stabbed the sword down, impaling Thanatos through the back and pinning him to the floor. This finally knocked the fight out of the beast, and Piermont tossed the weapon aside, approaching the downed Reaper general, gasping for breath, exhausted. The stub of his left arm continued to spit and sputter sparks, and the creature chuckled gravelly, "You cannot...stop the will of the Reapers...I may be defeated...but Ares will destroy all that remains of your ignorant species!"

"Oh piss off!" Piermont roared, "I will fuck up your little butt buddy, too, you sorry son of a bitch! Especially after what you bastards did to Alex!"

Thanatos chuckled, "What...we did to Alex...? Oh, my pathetic, infantile friend...there is much...you do not realize..."

"You killed my friend!"

"Killed?" Thanatos once more chuckled coldly, reaching around and grabbing the blade's handle with his remaining hand, tearing it free and dropping the weapon to the ground, slowly righting himself, "Oh...he is well and very much alive!"

" _What!?_ " Piermont exclaimed, in shock.

"He fought, he resisted...but in the end...even _he_ fell to our glorious influence!"

"Stop lying you bastard!"

"Lying, huh?" and Thanatos grabbed onto his helmet, removing it, along with a large swathe of cloth that had been attached to it like a hood, throwing it to the ground.

Piermont's eyes widened with horror...Alex stood before him, his torso and face almost completely covered heavily in the veins signifying indoctrination, their source seeming to be from the remains of his left arm. He was definitely more machine than human now, his eyes were glazed over, his body was almost skeletal in appearance from lack of nutrition, and he wore an insane grin, "Does this...look dead to you?"

"N...No..." the human-form dragon, eyes wide with shock and horror, almost childlike in appearance, his jaw-dropped, backed steadily away until he struck the plate. Alex, completely under the influence of the Reapers, slowly hobbled towards him, "Impossible...! You can't be alive!" he screamed through tears, "You were disconnected from the mind bank!"

"Ah yes...that primitive hive you call the 'mind bank'...when we took control of this form, we removed his access to it, installing our shared servers in its place."

"Let go of him you fucking cunts!"

"Heh...I'm afraid it's too little, too late...soon, your city will either succumb to us or be destroyed, and there is _nothing_ you can do to stop it. Unfortunately, you won't be around to see humanity's extinction. We won't even give you the pleasure of joining our ranks."

Alex then removed several throwing knives from his waist, "No...instead we will have the pleasure of ridding this world from you troublesome leeches! It's time you are punished for your sins!"

The Commander, with eerie agility, leaped into the air, throwing the knives towards the dragon, who barely managed to roll beneath them. He ran along the perimeter of the room, repeatedly assaulting the dragon with the projectiles, who struggled to keep up with his superior speed and seemingly limitless endurance. Before he could get a shot off, Alex was right upon Piermont, doing a back flip kick and knocking the human-form dragon into the air. The Commander then jumped up to join him, unleashing a deadly barrage of extremely quick blows to the dragon before drilling into his chest, pile driving him into the ground and flipping back. Before Piermont even had a chance to recover, Alex sprinted towards him again, kicking him into the air before kicking him back into the wall of the arena.

Piermont reached for and picked up a steel plate laying beside him, throwing it at Alex and striking him in the face, sending him to the ground. The indoctrinated Commander picked himself up again, spitting out a glob of black and grinning, "Is that all you got?"

Rocket finally managed to detach the heart, and still rambling the same phrase repeatedly, he dropped to the floor, dragging the heart over to Quill's waiting ship and ripping off the hull, detaching several wires from the Reaper cannon attached beneath the nose. He pulled the heart up to him, managing to lift it into an open space before hastily reconnecting the wires. Once the cannon was reconnected, he quickly climbed into the ship, running to the cockpit and rapidly tapping into the computer he had built into the console, starting the process to supply power from the ship, through the Reaper heart, which put it back online, and into the cannon.

Piermont, bloody, beaten, the wind knocked out of him, hit the floor painfully, sliding several yards across it. Alex landed across from him, approaching the dragon, who's energy had all but left him. The human-form dragon raised a hand in surrender, only to have it effortlessly thrown aside and to be lifted off the ground by the throat. While Alex, still wearing his mad grin, began to apply pressure to the dragon, choking him, Piermont finally succumbed to a fresh burst of rage, and eyes glaring, he returned to his natural form, bellowing a mighty roar and swiping his head to the side, knocking Alex back.

The Commander was quickly on his feet again, letting out his _own_ bellowing roar as, eyes glowing orange, he began to levitate, arms outspread. With an explosion of heat and light, Piermont watched as several pillars of fire surged from the ground, rotating around the Commander. Alex then breathed fire onto his hand, the flame extending outward into a serpentine shape and taking on the appearance of a fiery, eastern dragon. He did the same for the stub of his left arm, and soon, surrounded by the pillars of flame as he hovered around the room, he swiped towards Piermont with the fiery serpents. The dragon evaded these attacks, lowering his head like a bull and charging towards the Commander, knocking him out of the protective shield. Alex flew across the arena, impacting with the side of the room and sliding to the ground, dislodging several dangling plates of metal above him that piled on top of him.

After several seconds without any movement, Piermont left his attack stance, carefully approaching the pile of mangled steel, "Alex?" he asked, "Are you alive in there?"

Once the dragon had finally reached the pile of steel, he heard a faint buzzing sound and the pile exploded outward in a burst of fire. The shockwave sent him sliding across the ground, the steel plates raining from the heavens around him. Alex, now completely engulfed in a veil of fire, slowly approached the downed dragon, chuckling, "And now for the encore!" he picked up his blades, standing over the exhausted dragon who merely surrendered.

As the Commander lifted the blades above his head, preparing to impale the dragon from above, Rocket screamed at the top of his lungs, "Hey, dipshit! Have a load of this!" throwing a switch, the quarter-charged Reaper cannon fired a burst of energy, slamming into Alex and sending him into the wall once again. With a groan, Piermont tried to pick himself up off the ground, weakly falling back down again. He looked towards where the Commander lay, still, unmoving, smoke rising from his body.

The last of Piermont's strength gave out and he collapsed onto his side, staring towards the Commander, ears ringing, vision dull and gray. As he neared unconsciousness, he spied Alex slowly standing back up again, beginning to approach the dragon once more, but he didn't even have the strength to lift his head, and he accepted his fate.

There was something different in the indoctrinated Commander's gait though, he moved unsteadily, stumbling forward slowly. Piermont squeezed his eyes shut, awaiting his imminent demise before a barely recognizable voice called out, "Leave...here!"

" _Alex_?" he said weakly, opening his eyes again to spy the Commander standing in front of him. The veins of indoctrination wriggled and squirmed from his skin, beginning to retreat back towards the remains of his arm.

"Go...away..." Alex replied, voice harsh and forced, "Can't...fight...too...strong..."

"Alex!" and Cynder ran towards him, the rest of Alpha Company paralyzed in place with shock.

As the she-dragon neared him, he emitted another mechanical growl, sending a fireball towards her that drove her back, " _NO!_ " he screeched, "Stay...back!"

Cynder pedaled away, completely in tears.

"Get...out...of my... _HEAD_!" he howled, clutching his head and collapsing to his knees, voice strained, but almost normal.

"You will not resist!" he said again, this time in that same, mechanical tone he had used under the Reapers' control. "You cannot resist!"

"You...won't take... _ME!_ "

"You are already ours!"

He let loose an animalian howl, "I WILL NOT BE YOUR SLAVE!"

"Resistance is futile! We already have you in our grasp, you are ours!"

"I _WILL FIGHT!_ "

"You will die!" and his head suddenly snapped up, face blank and empty. He picked himself up, walking casually towards one of his dropped swords. He reached down, picking up the weapon and turning it around until the blade was facing his stomach, "If you will not accept our offer while alive, we will control your corpse until it rots!"

" _NO!_ " he roared, body trembling powerfully. He collapsed to the ground once again, submitting to a violent seizure. After several terrifying seconds, his body stilled and silence overtook the air.

Several minutes passed, and when his body didn't move, Alpha Company chanced approaching him. Cynder carefully extended a paw towards his head, gasping when his arm grabbed her forelimb with a strong, sturdy grip. She began to scream, but wasn't able to produce any sound. With a groan, he used to her stand, leaning against her before falling back down again.

"Alex!" she exclaimed, rushing to catch him, "Alex...are you with us?"

His eyes, now clear, squinted at her, "Cynder...? Is that...you?"

"Oh God, Alex..." and she collapsed into his arms, crying into his chest.

The others soon surrounded him, Rocket and Quill helping him to stand. The veins of indoctrination were growing smaller and smaller, pulling further and further back into the stub of his arm, and he was led back to where Quill's ship, now joined with Alpha Company's Hornet, idled near the detached Reaper brain, laying on the ground in a puddle of a slick, oil-like substance. Upon reaching the Hornet, Alex took a seat on the side, groaning and leaning against the door, out of breath.

"Are you okay?" Spyro asked.

He weakly nodded, "I'll be fine...I think...I just need to rest."

Once the brain was loaded into the Hornet, Quill turned to face them, "Sorry to break up your little reunion here but...uh...we should probably get back to New Alexandria."

Alex nodded, "We need to stop them...but there's nothing we can do."

"See...that's the thing," and Spyro explained their plan to him.

"That might work...at least against the machines themselves...disposing of _Perditus_ , the Infected, and the Indoctrinated is an entirely different story though...especially Ares."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," Cynder said, "But for now, we need to get back to New Alexandria. You just hang back, try to gather your strength, okay?"

He nodded, "Let's hope we can stop them soon...I drove away Harbinger for now but...I'm too weak. If it decides to return...I won't be able to fight it off again."

"Don't worry," Cynder replied, hugging him, "We'll stop them."


	34. Chapter XXXIII: Equilibrium

_**Chapter XXXIII**_ **:**

 **-''Equilibrium''-**

 **-New Alexandria, Montana-**

 **- _30 May 2015_ -**

 **- _1621 Hours_ -**

"I was wondering if you guys would make it back," Bleu admitted, hurriedly running up to Alpha Company, trudging in the command center. Behind them, the brain was being wheeled in on a cart borrowed from Quill's ship. "Take that back to my lab and I'll get to work imme..." but he fell silent as the door slowly opened and Cynder and Spyro walked in, both gently escorting a frail and malnourished Alex.

"A...Alex?" the baby dragon said in a small voice, rubbing his eyes, "Is that...is that _you?_ "

The Commander, holding the stub of his arm, reluctantly nodded, "Yes..."

"I thought you were dead..."

The Commander smiled grimly, "So did I."

"Where _were_ you!?"

"It's not important right now," the Commander replied, taking a seat at a desk and catching his breath, "What _is_ important is that you get that brain up and running again...it's our only chance to stop the Reapers."

"O...Of course, I'll get started immediately!" and he hurried off. Aphrodite, Tiberius, and Athena soon entered the room, Tiberius' eyes narrowing and the raptor growled towards him.

"Hey! Hey! Easy! He's a friend," Spyro said.

Athena soon left the group, following Bleu to his lab. Tiberius hissed, "This creature is Thanatos!"

"O-Oh my..." Aphrodite managed, voice small, " _YOU_ are Thanatos!? Please don't hurt me!"

"I'm not gonna hurt you," the Commander scowled, "I'm free...for now."

"Aphrodite?" Zinnia called out, "Where did you..." and she paused dead in her tracks, jaw dropping at the sight of Alex standing before her. The Commander, too, was dumbfounded, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.

"Alex?" she asked him, voice small.

"Z...Zinnia? Is that you?"

Breaking down into tears of joy, the girl ran up to the Commander, embracing him tightly and nearly knocking him to the ground, "Oh my God...it's been so long!"

"Zinnia, what are _you_ doing here?"

"W-Wait...you two know each other?" Aphrodite asked, exchanging glances between the two.

Zinnia smiled towards the Commander, "He's...an old friend..." and she grabbed his remaining hand in both of hers, "I'm sorry..."

"What for?" he asked, still in disbelief.

She hugged him again, burying her head in his shoulder and whispering, " _For leaving you..._ I made a stupid choice...I've regretted it ever since."

"I really missed you, Zinnia..."

She smiled, blinking away tears, "I missed you, too..."

"So...um..." Cynder began, scratching her head, "Can the reunions wait until _after_ the Reapers are gone?"

"Oh...yeah..." Zinnia said nervously, standing upright, "Sorry...my bad."

"You flipped out over reuniting with your mate, too," Spyro said, glaring at the she-dragon, who only blushed, looking away.

"Wait..." Zinnia suddenly said, turning to face the dragon, "Mate?"

Spyro nodded, "Yeah...surprise, Alex is a zoophile."

The girl looked towards the Commander again, who only pursed his lips, looking towards the ground.

"Cynder, Dash, and Ruby are all his partners," Spyro continued

"The purple faggot and Sapphire are, too," Piermont said grimly, only to be glared down by Spyro.

"So are you...you two jacked each other off a long time ago, didn't you?"

"Fuck you," Piermont hissed at the dragon.

"Enough!" Cynder interrupted, "C'mon, we need to get the Reapers taken care of!"

In Bleu and Fox's shared lab, the duo had plugged the brain in to an odd, high-tech computer, running scans. Upon Alpha's entry, Fox nodded towards Alex, saying, "Welcome back."

"Anything on the brain?" Cynder asked.

Fox shook his head, "No..."

Bleu added, "Unfortunately, it's really badly damaged...it'll take a lot of time to get it working properly again."

"Yeah well, we don't necessarily _have_ a lot of time...is there anything we can do? Anything at all?"

"I'm not really sure, to be honest," Bleu sighed, "Unless..." and he fell silent, becoming fully engrossed in his work.

"Unless what?" the she-dragon asked.

"As suspected, the hivemind is constantly shifting frequencies, which is then split into almost like sub-frequencies which each individual unit operates on...I can't hijack the entire collection but..." the dragon frowned, "I may be able to tackle one at a time...there's not enough power in the brain to take them all..."

"Which means...? What?"

"It means that there is no way we'll be able to take control over every single Reaper, unless we get a new, working brain."

"Well..." Spyro began, "What if we were to take over one at a time, like you said you _could_ do, and use them against each other?"

"What do you mean?"

"Jump into a body, use it to destroy a neighboring Reaper, then jump into _another_ body and destroy the other one. You said that you can take over one at a time, and that their armaments are strong enough to penetrate shields and the hulls of other Reapers?"

"I said it's possible, but I obviously can't confirm it until I see for myself."

"Then do it, let's confirm it," the purple dragon nodded vigorously.

Bleu nodded, "Hmm...that might work...but that only takes care of the machines...what are we gonna do about their troops? What about Ares?"

"I'll take care of Ares..." Alex suddenly said, "I know his patterns, how he thinks...how he fights...I'm the only one here who stands a ghost of a chance against him. The rest of you guys can concentrate on the little guys while Bleu here destroys the ships themselves."

"Absolutely not!" Cynder scolded, "What happens if Harbinger manages to take you over again?"

"It won't," Alex replied firmly, holding up his damaged arm, "It was controlling me through this...although it may still try, its influence over me is much weaker than it was, I can take the bastard."

"Alex...I don't wanna see you in the path of danger again," Zinnia said, "Especially so soon after you came back."

Alex grinned towards her, "I've been doing crap like this my entire life, it's just another Tuesday for me," and he turned to face his companions again, "Please, guys...let me do this...I can take him, I _know_ I can."

Silence fell over the room for several moments before Cynder said, "You _will_ let us know if things start going south...right?"

"Of course, sexy," and the Commander thought he could see Zinnia frown, although the movement was too subtle and almost split-second.

After several moments of silence, Spyro finally nodded, "All right...I say go for it. Seriously though, Alex...if something happens, let us know."

The Commander nodded, "I will, I promise."

The New Alexandria skyline glowed like fire against the sunset as Alex climbed to the top of the oil rig where Terminator forces had cornered Ares. Upon his arrival, he watched as a group of Infected ripped the last of the defenders to bloody, gory shreds. He swiftly cut them down, pushing further in. He could sense Ares somewhere ahead, he could feel the general's aura, and he was frightened to realize that the creature could feel him, too.

Slaughtering a group of charging Infected, his vision took on an eerie blue tint, and a sharp pain tore through his body, gathering in his head and sending him to the ground. As clear as day, each word causing the world to quake around him, Harbinger spoke to the Commander telepathically, _Why do you continue to resist? We are your destiny, your future, we will liberate your species from its mortal binds and ascend you!_

Ignoring the presence until it faded away, his vision returning to normal and the eerie, unnatural pain dissipating, the Commander stood up just as another Infected lunged towards him, broken jaw hanging down to its torso, attempting to disembowel him. Alex kicked the beast in the chest, knocking it back, before quickly stabbing forward, thrusting his hand through its cold, slimy, jellied skin and skull and ripping its brain from its body. Alex continued on, armed only with his Desert Eagle and a single sword, currently relying on the sword to preserve ammunition, as reloading would not be easy without a second arm.

Suddenly, to his left, one of the mighty Reapers rose from below, charging its cannon and preparing to fire on him. Alex fell back, trying to decide what to do before a massive beam of plasma shot from below, ripping through a huge chunk of the platform and tearing through the attacking Reaper's shields and hull. As the dead machine fell to the earth, the Reaper that had come to the rescue, eyes glowing green, suddenly snapped back into control, its eyes flashing red and preparing to fire. From above and behind it, _another_ Reaper's eyes flashed green, and it fired towards the attacking Reaper, blowing it to pieces...Bleu's plan was working.

Determined, Alex pressed on, deeper into the platform, swiftly cutting down all the charging Infected rushing towards him. As he was about to attack another group, nausea and pain tore through his body again, his vision once more tinted blue, and Harbinger spoke again, _You cannot destroy us, our species is infinite. Surrender now to me, and I will ensure that your ascension is quick and painless._ Still, Alex ignored the Reaper commander, narrowly managing to throw the attacking creatures off and kill them before continuing on ahead, this time much more carefully.

He rounded a corner, looking ahead. Between him and a large rock wall that blocked off access to the room beyond, a large group of newly infected Terminator soldiers turned to face him, hissing and charging ahead. The oil rig suddenly shook dangerously, the steel creaking and protesting. The room began to dip to the left, and a destroyed Reaper crashed through the building's roof, smashing through the floor and falling to the ground, its red eye lights flickering briefly before extinguishing completely.

 _This is your final chance_ , Harbinger spoke, crippling Alex yet again, _Submit yourself to us, and return to the glory of our perfect form!_

"Fuck...off..." Alex snarled, fighting off Harbinger's suffocating presence and continuing ahead, slaying the last group of Infected between him and Ares.

 _Very well...we will ensure that your demise is slow and painful!_ and the Reaper commander pulled out completely.

Alex caught his breath, standing up once again from hi crouch and continuing ahead. Upon reaching the rock wall, he closed his eyes, pressing his forehead against its smooth surface. Breathing deeply, he prepared himself before, with a loud roar, he punched the wall several times, his arm engulfed in flame. Finally, he bashed through the wall, the flames extinguishing, his broken healing healing before he entered the circular chamber. The ceiling had been destroyed, pieces of debris from it littered the area, and across the circular catwalk, Ares remained in his meditative stance, directly across from the Commander, sitting upon the ledge of the platform and peering out over the city.

"So...the prodigal son has returned..." Ares said, slowly standing and turning to face the Commander, "I am ashamed of you, Thanatos...insulting Harbinger and turning against your own."

"My name isn't Thanatos!" Alex hissed, "My name is Alex Vaughn, and I will _never_ be one of you sorry sons of bitches."

"You have betrayed us."

"No, I escaped from the prison you bastards stuck me in!"

"You cannot resist us for long...we _will_ prevail."

"Look around you! Dozens of machines are being destroyed every minute...you've lost brother...your reign of terror is over!"

"The Harvest cannot be prevented."

"Too late!" and Alex drew his vibrating sword, snarling towards the Reaper general standing across from him, still statuesque and unmoving.

"Join us again, put aside your weapons, and share with us the glory of the Reapers."

"I will _die_ before I become one of you again!"

"You are making a mistake...but so be it..." and in a swift, fluid motion, Ares had withdrawn his sword, holding it out to the side like an extension of his arm. He closed his outstretch arm, grabbing the hilt of the sword with his second hand and holding it vertically before his mask, "The Angel of Death versus the God of War...truly a battle for the ages..." and he sliced through the air, lowering his now one-handed sword to his side, in preparation for the fight. He clenched his free, three-fingered hand into a fist and, outstretching this arm as far as he could, "Let us begin!"

With a roar, Alex ran forward, sword pointing forward and preparing to slash upwards. Ares blocked the slash with his own blade, spinning it up and throwing the one-armed Commander off his balance. The Reaper general prepared to slash forward, but Alex ducked to the side, appearing behind Ares and preparing to impale the beast from behind. Ares swiftly rotated until he was facing the Commander, leaping backwards across the arena and slowly twirling his sword at his side. Alex recovered from the failed attack, rolling out of the way of a lunge from Ares and coming out of it with a downward slash. Ares ducked beneath this, shoving a palm against the Commander's chest and sending him flying backwards.

Alex hopped back onto his feet, shortly before Ares, now glowing a faint, earthly green, slammed his feet into the ground, summoning earthen columns from below. He kicked these towards the Commander, Alex dodging this attack and countering with a ball of fire he launched from the palm of his hand. Ares quickly crossed his arms against his chest, like a corpse in a coffin, quickly snapping up his head and summoning an earthen shield before him. The balls of fire struck the shield, barely chipping it before the Reaper general headbutted it, sending it sliding quickly towards the Commander. Unable to dodge, the blow struck its target and Alex was thrown into the rock wall he had penetrated to come in here. Dazed, Alex looked up to spy Ares casually and stiffly walk towards him, sword hanging at his side. Suddenly, the Reaper general touched the tip of the blade against the floor, sliding across the arena towards the Commander slashing upwards, crashing the blade down on the other side of the general's body, making an arc around him. Alex leaped to the side to dodge this, and Ares quickly extended his blade, spinning around to face the Commander, who ducked beneath the attack, once again.

"There will be no progression in our battle if you keep evading," Ares said, "If resistance is your desire, start retaliating!"

Alex remained on his knees, gasping for breath, looking towards the ground.

"You pitiful fool. Are you expecting mercy?" and Ares approached the kneeling Commander.

Alex chuckled, head snapping up as he glared at Ares with a malicious grin, "Actually, no...I'm just lowering your defenses," and he shot upwards once again, producing a massive wave of fire that smacked powerfully into Ares, throwing him against the wall. He bounced off of it, flying over the Commander and hitting the floor near the center of the arena. Here, Alex continued a deadly barrage of pyrokinetic attacks, striking Ares repeatedly and not even giving the Reaper general a chance to recover. Finally, once Alex's stamina had depleted and he collapsed to the ground to catch his breath, Ares remained laying outspread on the ground, body mangled, black blood surrounding his corpse and dripping through the catwalk onto the ground far below. The creature breathed heavily, slowly picking itself up before collapsing to its knees again.

Alex stood, withdrawing his Desert Eagle and approaching the kneeling Ares, ready to attack should the creature have any tricks up his sleeve. Blue sparks of healing danced around the Reaper general's body, puzzling the Commander.

"Who are you?" Alex asked, "Let's see...shall we?" and he tore the hooded mask free from Ares' body, the creature not even resisting. The Commander's eyes widened, and he fell back, "No...no...it can't be..."

Crouching on the ground, Terrias, badly indoctrinated with almost no uncorrupted flesh left on his body, was breathing heavily, his breath liquid and unsteady.

"I thought you were dead..."

Terrias chuckled maliciously, slowly righting himself, "I was _dead_..." and he approached the stunned Commander, "But I was given new life..." and with another grim chuckle, he ripped off the rest of his uniform, exposing the full extent of his corruption. There was no clean flesh left on his torso, black blood was dried and clumped across multiple injuries of various degrees of seriousness. What was the most shocking however, was a dirty, dented, steel exterior spine attached to his body, kept in place by steel pins through his skin. This was the source of his indoctrination, and the creature continued, "After _you_ left me for dead...I was discovered by Zack's forces and captured, paralyzed completely. They attached this device to my body to mend my broken spine...while at the same time readying me as their slave, controlled by this device. Before I could be deployed as his proxy, Zack was killed and Harbinger _liberated_ me, it _repaired_ my body in full...under the condition that this device remained so that I could be one with the machines."

"This isn't who you are, Terrias..."

He chuckled, "Ah...I am not Terrias, I am Ares. Terrias died on Eden..." and he grabbed his sword again, preparing to attack, "Now, I am one with the Reapers!" and the servine lunged towards the Commander, who rolled out of the way, pulling his gun. Attacked to the back of Terrias' neck was a small metal box with a glowing red light, with three well-aimed shots, the Commander shot out the box until the light flickered out and smoke poured from within. The servine cried out at this, collapsing forward to the ground, and falling still.

After several minutes, Alex slowly approached his old friend, weapon ready to fire if needed.

"T...Terrias?" Alex asked uneasily, "Are you with me brother?"

Now standing over the still creature, Alex slowly crouched forward, crying out when Terrias forcefully grabbed his ankle. "Don't shoot!" the creature said weakly, "Don't shoot..." and he flipped over until he was on his back, gasping for breath. Alex watched, sick to his stomach as the veins of indoctrination slithered across his body, pulling back into the exterior spine. The Commander knelt forward, throwing Terrias' arm around the young man's shoulder and helping the servine to stand.

"Are you okay?"

The servine slowly shook his head, eyes squeezed closed, "It...hurts..."

"I know it does..." Alex replied, "It'll pass, don't worry."

Finally, the Pokemon opened his eyes, raising his head to face the Commander and smiling slyly towards him, "What? We gonna kiss now?"

"C'mon..." Alex said, "Let's go..." and he led the servine to the edge of the platform where they stood together, watching as the Reapers were killed around them.

"H...How did you stop them?" Terrias asked.

"Bleu did...with a little help from Zack."

"Is he still alive?"

Alex chuckled sadly, and the two looked towards the sunset, watching as the machines that had nearly destroyed the world were hastily brought to the brink of extinction.

 **-END-**


End file.
